When Caregiving Becomes Your Career
I was a small business owner before Zack sustained his injury. I ran a photography business and always enjoyed taking pictures. I was given my first film camera in the 2nd grade. I remember positioning my friends in certain poses to take their photographs in elementary school. By high school, I was the person my friends would look for to take pictures because I always had a camera (No cell phones back then). Photography was something that I naturally did. However, I never thought of doing it as a career.
I married young and had my first child (Zack) at age 22. I have worked at many different jobs, from waitressing to office assistant. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life career-wise. I attended a friend’s Wedding and remembered watching the photographer; thinking I could do that. So, I made a point to talk with the assistant photographer at that Wedding. She ended up helping me get an interview at the studio she worked for, and within a few weeks, I was hired.
It was the best thing; the owner was almost retired and allowed me to tag along at weddings. After a couple of months, I became the background photographer, capturing all the behind-the-scenes. I learned the ins & outs of running a business; the office staff taught me about film, development, sales, marketing and how to make beautiful wedding albums.
While pregnant for the 2nd time, I was asked to do a small backyard wedding for a couple on a budget. That was my first solo Wedding. It was exciting! I was nervous but put what I had learned into practice. I was doing fine initially but did not count on the pregnancy nausea to be so strong. I had to excuse myself multiple times, barely reaching the bathroom in time. Luckily, I was able to cover up what was happening. I got through the Wedding and even managed to make them extremely happy. Word of mouth is the best advertising there is. I was 24 years old, young enough to connect to the brides, and I developed a niche for capturing candid moments. This was my favorite type of photography. I built my business up and hired an assistant. I loved my job. I had weddings on the weekends and was able to be home with my children during the week.
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I had 2 more children by the age of 32. Business was good; by now, I had a decade of experience. I worked hard and enjoyed being able to provide brides with a recap of their beautiful day. After that, I expanded into pregnancy and family portraits. Photography gave me a sense of independence and was my creative outlet and I enjoyed capturing those most special moments.
The day Zack was injured, my business shut down. It was a loss. I did a few photography shoots over the years and changed from film to digital, but now cell phones can take pretty great photos with editing options, plus everyone has one! It was never quite the same; I lost my drive.
Caregiving for my son was not something I ever imagined would take the place of my career but watching Zack persevere and overcome, making a good life for himself was worth it. I will always enjoy taking photos for fun, and I will continue to make yearly photo albums of my family's daily lives. I want to be able to look back and relive those priceless moments in time.