I’m just going to say it: 2020 has been a WEIRD year. I’m grateful to be back to work and able to photograph my amazing families again this fall. Although sessions are a bit different than they were before COVID-19, there’s some really exciting and interesting options for family portraits in the fall this year that can still accommodate the restrictions in place. Even with a weird year and limits for everyone’s safety, we can still plan a super fall-inspired portrait session!
Carving Pumpkins
What says fall more than carving up a pumpkin in your own backyard? In the safety of your own backyard, we can socially distance while you enjoy a fun fall tradition. As I get older and see my boys grow up, I realize that capturing our family traditions in portraits is something really special. One day, we won’t have these moments together and I’ll have the images to look back on.
Fall Picnic in the Park
Grab your favorite warm beverage and a cozy blanket for your family and meet me at the park! As your family enjoys a fall picnic, I’ll be able to capture your memories and you might even start a new tradition. The beautiful leaves around us and fall colors will only add to the atmosphere of your autumn moments.
Celebrate Quarantine
2020 has been one heck of a year. Let your family portraits memorialize this weird time in our lives. Maybe you’re sporting a new beard or your kids have a super long hairstyle. With a lot of laughs and a good sense of humor, we can create something truly entertaining to capture your days at home in a safe way.
Just because our sessions have to be outside and more distanced than normal doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time. If you have an idea for your fall portrait session, let’s chat! I always love new adventures with my families and capturing their special moments in our beautiful city. Read more of my COVID-19 safety plans here!
It’s that time! We’ve received word that we are able to open our doors again, and I can’t wait to see all of you! I want to first thank everyone who chose to reschedule instead of cancel their sessions, even when we had no idea how long this would take. And, I want to say an extra thank you to anyone who purchased a gift card during the crisis. Because of you, my family was able to stay afloat. We all thank you. This small business thanks you!
Now, it’s no surprise that there will be some changes for our sessions coming up this summer. To keep my family healthy, and to keep your family healthy, I hope we can all work together to have safe and fun sessions by utilizing the safety measures I’m putting in place. I will officially be reopening June 5th for outdoor sessions only. Please also keep in mind that sessions can only have up to 10 people. That means NINE family members and me. Anything for larger groups or events will have to be postponed until the state gives us further guidelines.
Location, location, location.
I will only be shooting outdoor sessions for the foreseeable future. These sessions will occur on private property or limited locations I’ve chosen that will have lower crowds, making it safer for all of us. Since families will not be masked during the session, you’ll notice I’ll be shooting with a longer lens and keeping at least 8-10 feet between us (the CDC recommends 6 feet, but I would like to be extra sure we all stay healthy!).
Are masks required?
Please don’t be surprised! I’ll be wearing my mask when I greet you and do anything that requires that I get closer than 8 feet to your family. I will likely lower it when I get further back to actually take the portraits, so that you can both hear me and everyone is able to feel more relaxed. When you’re not being photographed, I’d highly recommend you wear your mask – and take it off during the portraits. Additionally, sessions will be zero contact. That means no handshakes, hugs, fixing your hair, holding your bags/belongings or touching any personal items. Oh! And don’t forget the hand sanitizer. I’ll have my own on me, but please provide your own so we can be extra careful.
Newborns and Little Ones
All of my newborn sessions will now take place outside of your home until further notice. As with family sessions, these will be zero contact sessions.
Please know that you are responsible for the movements of your children and pets during any sessions with me in the near future. Although I love being able to help during sessions, everyone’s health must take a priority. I will verbally provide posing suggestions and instructions throughout our sessions.
Contracts & Ordering Sessions
All contracts will be updated to reflect these new policies. By signing, you are agreeing to them – and to letting me know if we must reschedule. All ordering sessions will continue to happen virtually following your session, as has always been my policy. I look forward to seeing what artwork you choose from your session!!!
Sick/Cancellation Policy
It is strongly encouraged that any family members attending your session (and myself) take temperatures before coming to the session. If anyone registers at 100.4 or higher, we will reschedule the session for at least 14 days later. Additionally, if anyone is experiencing coughing, shortness of breath, or any other symptoms, we will reschedule for at least two weeks later. Finally, if anyone has tested positive for the virus, please let me know and we will reschedule. Although I know it can be frustrating to reschedule, your health and mine (as well as my family’s) is of the utmost importance.
I know that all these rules seem overwhelming. But I want to be sure everyone is as safe as possible while we document your family’s story. I appreciate your support and understanding as we figure out how to make these sessions as safe as we can. I can’t wait to see your smiling faces and watch your family enjoy the summer months in Philly. Let’s capture those memories!
Anyone else feeling a little stir crazy about this Coronavirus Apocalypse right now? Just me? I thought I’d take a moment to let you, my incredible clients, know how things will be working in the LBP world. I want each of you to know that my priority is ensuring that we all stay healthy before, during, and after our sessions.
Mom holds laughing toddler daughter in arms in Fairmount Philadelphia
First and foremost, know that I’m taking great care to follow CDC recommendations and am keeping my hands extra clean. I like to think that I was doing pretty well before all the hand soap and sanitizer flew off the shelves, actually! 😉 During this outbreak, I’m making extra sure that I preface any photo session with good hygiene for everyone’s sake. The best part about lifestyle sessions? There’s very little contact with my clients… because it’s really about just capturing your normal day-to-day life and not posing you! That means I can still keep your at-home and outdoor sessions on my calendar, if you’re feeling up to it.
If you aren’t feeling well or you’re dealing with other emergencies, let me know. I’m happy to be flexible with rescheduling your session. By making sure we don’t spread germs, we’ll make this outbreak a little bit easier for everyone. Please just let me know if you want to reschedule or need other accommodations. Of course I will also have the courtesy to cancel if my health should change or I experience any undue exposure.
My hope is that we will all emerge from this weird couple of weeks feeling refreshed, healthy, and excited for the warmer weather very soon! I still have some dates on my April calendar, and I’m also currently booking into May. So it’s definitely not too soon to daydream about getting outside and capturing your family’s memories this spring. You might as well knock one more thing off your to-do list while we’re all stuck at home with the kids!
Mom and dad lift up toddler child in air in front of mural wall Old City Philadelphia Lucy Baber Philadelphia
No matter what, we’re all in this together. I know things feel a bit crazy right now: kids home from school, jobs on hold, life completely thrown in the air. But I believe in the power of community. I believe that together, we can get past this and back to whatever normal is. I have always believed that we are stronger together. So wash your hands, hunker down with a good book or board game, try to enjoy the extra time with your kids, and stay healthy friends!
So first I should clarify: there is no “arrival” when it comes to manifesting your dream business. The moment you start to feel like you’ve met your goals, the bar starts to slowly inch up a bit higher and all of a sudden, you have brand new goals. Artists and creatives are especially prone to this level of “dreaming big” and constantly upping the ante, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s also just a personality thing for us small business owners, and maybe even just a human nature thing. There will always be new hurdles to clear, and if you’re anything like me, you know that that’s kind of half the fun of it.
Change your Money Mindset
Confession: You might think I’m crazy, but I used to be afraid of making money. It wasn’t until I started to really unpack some of my own emotional and mental baggage that I was really able to acknowledge: “Oh, I actually have some outdated mental scripts playing in my head that are holding me back from achieving the success that I want.” I found myself thinking ingrained thoughts like “I can’t be trusted with more money”, “Financial literacy will be too hard for me to learn”, “More money only causes more stress”, and my personal favorite, “Rich people are snobby”. When I say that I had to dig deep and really unpack these internalized messages running through my mind, I mean that I had to go allllll the way back to the messages I had learned about money and hard work growing up, thoughts about class and socioeconomic status, thoughts about my capabilities as a woman…heck, I even had to unpack my thoughts about God and the whole freaking Universe when it came down to it! This type of inner work is not for the faint of heart.
Flip the Script
Once I started to really examine these knee-jerk reactions I had to making more money, I was finally able to flip the script to something more positive. Now, instead of “Financial literacy will be too hard for me to learn”, I tell myself “I’m a really smart and capable woman who enjoys the challenge of learning new things.” You see how I forced myself to take back the steering wheel there? I not only own my business, but I am in the driver’s seat of my own LIFE. I get to call the shots around here, and I believe with a little work that you all can too. The really amazing thing is, once I started to shift my mindset, my business really started to take off! I honestly couldn’t believe it was so simple!
Imagination = Work
I like to think outside the box. It’s one of the main reasons I had to leave my traditional 9-5 desk job almost seven years ago. I often got frustrated when my boss would ask me to do XY and Z but I wanted to start dreaming up new ways to improve AB and C. When you decide to go out on your own and run a business, imagination is a big part of the work. There’s no more ceiling to what you can achieve with your work, and it’s YOUR job to imagine all of the exciting possibilities that that level of freedom can open up! Especially when you work in a creative field, why limit those possibilities to a bunch of numbers on a page? Whether you call it Imagining, Daydreaming, Strategizing, or Brainstorming, it all comes down to the same basic idea:
Your business can only expand to fit the size of your own imagination.
What Does Your Dream Business Look Like?
I recently met up with a friend to discuss a new workshop we’re launching in January, and instead of the usual meeting over Skype or even an in-person coffee date, you know what we did? We chatted and strategized together over pedicures! Granted, it wasn’t a VIP private jet to Paris or anything, but to me it felt luxurious. THIS is what my current Dream Business looks like…indulging in self-care and small rewards all in the name of greater productivity and a much-needed creativity boost. In the past, I would have struggled with a lot of guilt about such a splurge. Right now, my Dream Business looks like cute toes and one of those sweet massage chairs. When I look ahead to 2020, I want it to look like more travel, more partnerships with industry leaders, and more of an emphasis on longterm sustainability. And still cute toes. Your Dream Business probably looks very different from mine, and that’s totally cool cause we’re out here living different lives and whatnot. The important thing is: Do YOU know what your Dream Business looks like? And if not, what do you plan to do about that?
Manifestation is an Active Verb
Okay, so imagination is nice and all, but money doesn’t just magically land in your lap after a full day of daydreaming that you’re swimming through your vault of gold coins, Scrooge McDuck style. You have to follow that up with actual work. For me, manifestation is about taking Active Ownership over my business: it’s about having Vision, it’s about being Intentional and Protecting my work time and space, it’s about digging deep and doing the inner work to help me maintain Mental Clarity, and it’s about surrounding myself with the right Energy to keep propelling me and my business forward. So, HOW do you turn your Daydreams into your Reality? Friends, that’s where I come in. 😉 As a former licensed mental health therapist and a current Business Mentor, I have a whole list of tools and strategies to help you manifest all your business goals. Let me help you get past whatever mountain or even plateau you’re currently staring down.
New Decade, Who Dis?
2020 is not only a brand new year, but it’s also a brand new DECADE. Now is the perfect time to evaluate both your personal and business goals and start making plans for how you intend to achieve those goals. I’d love to be able to work with you and help you start the New Year on the right foot!
Refresh 2020
In January, I’m co-hosting Refresh 2020, a half-day workshop in the greater Philly area for photographers who want to learn how to elevate their business from Burnout to Balance. I’m going to teach you how to “Manifest Your Dream Business“, and my awesome friend Rae will teach you how to “Cultivate a Fun and Profitable Client Experience”. We’re going to share all of our best tips and tricks for how we manage to not only stay sane, but continue to GROW in the uber-saturated market of family photography, and we’d LOVE for you to join us!
You can register for Refresh 2020 on Rae’s website, here (act fast because the Early Bird price ends soon!):
In January, I’m also launching a brand new mentoring service, where I’ll be hosting my very first Mastermind Group! I have a whole year of content mapped out to help you build a solid foundation for your photography business, no matter what state your business is currently in. Each month, I’ll be sharing customized feedback and homework for you to work on, and then at the end of the month, we’ll all check in and chat about progress, accountability, goal setting, and more. Since we’ll be meeting online, this is a perfect fit for anyone who’s not local or can’t make the in-person Refresh 2020 workshop. There’s no up-front commitment required; you’re welcome to join on a month-to-month basis. But I promise the info is going to be so invaluable you’ll want to keep coming back for more! This first group is only open to FIVE members and we’ve already sold the first three spots so there are only TWO SPOTS LEFT! If you’re interested, please reach out via my contact form below, and we’ll chat to make sure this group will be the right fit for you.
We have a little over two weeks left before Christmas, which means it’s time to buckle down and finish up your holiday shopping. If you’re still in search of the perfect gift for that special woman in your life, I’ve put together a list of things that I think look pretty cool and would love to receive this holiday season. Bonus points that several of these also support artists and makers that are local to Philadelphia!
**Disclaimer that I can’t personally vouch for all of these products and/or vendors. Also keep in mind that a lot of the Etsy stuff might have inconvenient shipping deadlines so be sure to double check before you hit Buy.
Books
Ever since my youngest turned five last December, I feel like I finally have some mental space to read for fun again. Here are a few favorites I read this past year:
It might feel like a cop-out to buy stuff for the house since BOTH of you will benefit from cool stuff like art and new mugs, but trust me…these cool and quirky picks are sure to put a giant smile on her face!
Jewelry is almost always a winning gift, but for a lot of women, style is extremely personal and can be hard to figure out. Here are a few things I think are super cute.
Like many women, I am perpetually freezing from early November through March. My wish list this year includes lots of cold weather accessories like cute hats, scarves, mittens, and slippers, but I’ve also totally got my eye on this car-friendly electric blanket to throw over my lap after a long afternoon watching the kids run around at the playground!
Literally every woman I know wants tickets to the Alanis Morissette/Garbage/Liz Phair show happening in Philly this June. Tickets go on sale THIS WEEK, so be sure to snag a pair before they sell out! I’ve also included a few other crafty/nerdy things that your lovely lady might also enjoy.
Did you know Lucy Baber Photography offers gift certificates? I’m always happy to help my clients start planning ahead for their next photo session, print their photos on my gorgeous high quality print products, or even teach the budding photographer in your life with my Mentoring Services!
You’ve heard me say it before, I believe all of my clients should print their photos. As someone who has lived with digital images piling up around me, I know how hard it can feel to choose which images to print and deciding what to do with them. But I’ve also seen first-hand the feeling people get when they’re able to see their images in their hands or on their walls.
It Boosts Your Child’s Self-Esteem
Did you know that seeing photos of your family all together can actually help to boost your child’s self-esteem? Especially when they’re little, your kids don’t know that Grandma has that gorgeous family photo of you all up as her Facebook cover photo or that your favorite pic from your last family session got 150 likes! Just like that little feeling of pride you got whenever you walked into Grandma’s house and saw your most recent school portrait hanging up on the wall, your kids want to see real, printed evidence that you want to celebrate them as a valued member of the family every single day!
Let me help!
There’s something really special about being able to display the moments you love. That’s why all of my packages now come with ordering sessions and print packages. I want my clients to look up at their wall and see their favorite memories looking back at them every single day.
Style AND Durability
To keep things simple, I offer four categories of printed products. All of my products are durable – I get it, little fingers are everywhere – and still beautiful. I personally handpicked all of the products I offer because I think they’re the best of the best. My print products can help you display your portraits in timeless ways to match every personal style, and they allow you to enjoy your images long after you’ve unplugged for the day. Don’t worry about choosing what you want to purchase right now…I’ll help you during your ordering process and my top priority is to make sure you love all of the choices you’ve made.
Here’s a quick run down of the different print products I have available:
Print Product Options
Albums. These gorgeous albums lay flat which means you can enjoy all of your images in beautiful spreads that include your favorite 20, 30, or 40 images. They’ve got a beautiful linen cover and stand up to the test of time. You and your kids can enjoy flipping through your session for years to come!
Mounted Prints. These beautiful, true-to-life color prints are super sturdy and work perfectly on the mantel, wall, or shelf. They’re a fun way to display a handful of your favorite images, or you can also make a statement with one large print!
Canvases. I have a TON of these canvases hanging in my own home, and I can attest that they have truly stood the test of time. They have the tightest corners on the market, and the great thing about canvas is there’s no need to worry about broken glass when the kids inevitably run into them. This is a great option for families who want to show off their favorite photos with a sturdy, timeless piece of wall art.
Wood Prints. My wood prints are my all-time favorite products! These modern displays take your favorite prints and mount them on wood. They’re gorgeous, unique, and a fun and modern twist on a wall hanging!
Unplug and Enjoy!
We’ll work together after your session to decide what you want to order via video chat. The best part is, whatever images you choose to print, you’ll also receive the digital backups of those images to post to the ‘gram. But trust me, seeing your images printed and on display in your home will be far more enjoyable than scrolling through them once or twice and sharing them on social media. There’s something special about looking at your beautiful family laughing, playing, and enjoying your favorite place in the world together every day. Especially with the holidays coming, it’s easy to imagine spending a night curled up together with your favorite blanket and flipping through your family’s album – or gifting a beautiful print to your family members. No matter why you want to print your photos, let’s find the perfect fit for your family!
As winter creeps in around us, it’s the time of year where lifestyle sessions become really popular. I absolutely love working with families to capture lifestyle sessions at home – whether it’s a family session or newborn portraits. Lifestyle sessions are the perfect way to capture your family in the place that means the most to you: home!
Less Stress
The best part of a lifestyle session at home? You don’t have to go anywhere! No traffic to beat, no worrying about car seats and crumpled outfits; much less stress over all. I come to you! This is especially great when you have a new baby. Being able to be at home, in your comfort zone, means everyone is much more relaxed from the start. Kids are most comfortable when they’re somewhere they’re familiar with – so sessions often start off a little bit easier. When everyone is less worried and stressed, the session is much happier overall. Plus, with easy access to toys, their favorite snacks, and comfortable places to lounge, there are so many options for activities to do and places to snuggle!
Stay Cozy
Another benefit of an indoor lifestyle session has to be the temperature! Especially this time of year, cold kids tend to lose their patience with the camera a LOT faster. Let’s be honest! Being inside, in the cozy warmth of home keeps everyone happier (and no one gets a Rudolph nose!). We can have a great time capturing your family snuggled up in your favorite blanket, reading stories, munching on some seasonal snacks, or even burning some energy and jumping on your bed. Babies can stay cozy in their cribs or warm nurseries. Even your fur babies can join in the fun!
Authentic Memories
Finally, there’s really nothing as special as capturing photos of your family in the place you call home. Being able to look back over the years and see how your family has grown into the place you love most is amazing. You spend so many hours and days in these rooms every year – why shouldn’t we document your family in your home? Capturing a lifestyle session is truly about capturing your family naturally. Maybe that’s all about your favorite holiday tradition, baking up some yummy snacks, or just staying warm and cozy all together. Whatever it is you love to do, let’s keep those memories preserved forever!
Lifestyle sessions can be booked all winter long (and even in non-winter months, especially for those babies!). If you’re thinking about scheduling a lifestyle session, contact me today! I’d love to chat more about what makes your home and family special – and how we can best capture that for your family.
When I initially sat down to make a playlist of all my favorite songs from the past decade, I didn’t give it too much thought. I figured I’d just add a few songs I like to listen to and call it a day. What I didn’t expect was how many wonderful memories of the past decade would get triggered for me. As it turns out, this past decade was pretty much the most important one of my entire life, so I figured rather than just share the playlist and be done, I’d take you for a quick walk down memory lane with me. Consider this my time capsule for the 2010’s.
Babies
I had my oldest son in 2010 and my youngest in 2013, so this was pretty much the Decade of Babies for me. Most of the songs that ended up in my lullaby repertoire weren’t new in this decade, but making this playlist still brought on so many memories of parenting and favorite moments with my kids. Over the past few years, each of my boys has grown and developed their own taste in music. By age 3 or 4, Theo announced that his favorite song was “Demons” by Imagine Dragons. When Chance was teeny tiny, we tricked him into thinking they were singing “Hot Chance” instead of “Hot Damn” in his favorite song, “Uptown Funk” (he still doesn’t know what they actually say, so don’t spoil it for him okay?). There are songs on this playlist that I only discovered because my kids heard them through their friends at school.
This playlist also brought up a lot of feelings about myself and my journey through Motherhood. In a lot of ways, I felt like I lost myself in those early years of raising kids: I got lazy with how I looked and dressed (we’ll call this period “The Yoga Pants” years), and I didn’t have the mental energy to go out with friends as much or pursue any hobbies that weren’t related to work. But most of all, during those early years of New Motherhood I stopped listening to new music, which has always been a big part of my personality. Over time I started to realize how important listening to music is to help me feel more like ME and not just “mom”.
And so, re-prioritizing going out to see live music has become an act of self-care for me in the past 2-3 years. For every song that I saw played live on this playlist, I taught my kids that their parents can (and should!) maintain an active social life beyond just the typical “playgrounds, playdates, and other kid-centric activities” that they see. Many times, going to a concert also means I had to line up a sitter or beg the grandparents to come and stay with the boys so we could get a night out. Most of the live music I saw in the past ten years is kind of a blur, but some recent highlights include: Belle and Sebastian, the bird and the bee, Molly Burch, Brandi Carlile, Mates of State, Jenny Lewis, of Montreal, The Faint, and that time Tyler and I saw How to Dress Well on our 10-year anniversary trip to LA.
Bought a House
For most of my 20s, I said that buying a house seemed scarier to me than the commitment level of getting married or having kids. And then in 2011, we went and bought our first house. I don’t really have any songs that remind me of the actual BUYING of our house, but the thing about houses is that eventually, you start to see this building as kind of a part of the family. This is the living room where my toddlers begged for dance parties before bedtime. This is the kitchen where I always crank up my favorite songs while I sip some wine, edit photos, and inevitably burn our dinners (because of said wine and photo editing). This is the bathroom where you just might catch me singing along to Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”, Dragonette’s “My Legs”, or Nicki & Beyonce’s “Feeling Myself” while I do my hair and makeup before going out for the night. We’ve celebrated birthdays and holidays in this house, recovered from illnesses, repaired leaky plumbing, shoveled snow and ran through the sprinkler out front, planted (and sometimes killed) countless plants in the garden, and best of all we’ve made lifelong friends with these neighbors.
Quit My Office Job & Became My Own Boss
I quit my job as a child therapist back in 2012. It feels weirdly minimizing to be able to summarize such a major life shift in that one little sentence. I left due to a combination of burnout (I specialized in child abuse therapy), the high cost of childcare as a working parent, and a really crappy supervisor who had her own issues to work out but instead took them out on me. Having only worked in non-profit jobs until that point, starting my own business definitely included some growing pains along the way. But it also turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life thus far. It helped me discover personal strengths that I would have never known about myself otherwise. It’s also helped me to face and overcome a lot of fears, both personally and financially. I’ve discovered that I love being able to steer my own ship, I enjoy the challenge of learning and mastering new skills, and I love getting paid to make people laugh and feel more connected to their families. I love being an Artist, I love being a Mentor, and I love the freedom and flexibility of being my own boss. Song shout-outs include: “Money” – Cardi B, “Get Your Shit Together” – Pillow Fight, “It’s Me On the Dance Floor” – My Brightest Diamond
Politics
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, the whole world kind of changed in November 2016. By January 2017, I’d attended my first political protest. I went through a phase where instead of music, I listened to a lot of political and history-based podcasts. I called my Senators. I started talking to my kids about the importance of voting and civic engagement. I started donating my time to go photograph political rallies and support local candidates. We upgraded our cable subscription so I could watch live hearings and tune in to Rachel Maddow at night. It’s been a wild ride these past few years. A few songs that helped me get through all of the political chaos: “Daughters” – Lissie, “Somewhere Only We Know” – Lily Allen, “Alright” – Kendrick Lamar, “Shake Baby Shake” – Gemma Ray
100 Black Dads Project
I’ve already spoken at length about what this project has meant to me, both personally and professionally. So for the sake of powering through this crazy long blog post, I’ll just share some of the musical highlights that will always remind me of this project and the incredible people I’ve been able to meet through my journey of trying to “stay woke” and give back to the community: “Don’t Touch My Hair” – Solange, “This is America” – Childish Gambino, “We the People” – A Tribe Called Quest. Special shout-out to the song “Get Me Off” by Crush Club, which was playing during my very first 100 Black Dads photo session while the dad twirled his daughter around in her cute little tutu.
dad dances with toddler daughter in tutu in living room Old City Philadelphia Lucy Baber Photography
Feminism, Empowerment, and Body Positivity
It’s hard to put into words how much I’ve changed over the past decade when it comes to my relationship with myself as a woman, a mother, a wife, and a physical body. I wrote a little bit about it here. A lot of my thoughts and feelings are still kind of simmering and forming themselves into words, but the cool thing about music is that a lot of songwriters have already done some of the self-discovery work for you and packaged it into a nice little song. So this category has quite a few songs: “Juice” – Lizzo, “My Mother and I” – Lucy Dacus, “Sorry” – Beyonce, “Close Your Eyes” – Kim Petras, “Dangerous Place” – Molly Burch, “Please Take Me Home” – the bird and the bee, “Blow” – Kesha
There are so many other songs on this playlist that are significant to me for reasons both big and small. Lots of songs I’ve sung along to on late-night road trips, danced to at weddings, songs I’ve laughed and cried to, songs that take me back to a favorite book or movie or scene in a TV show. I could go on and on. If you’ve read this far, thanks for sticking with me. Also a quick disclaimer that yes, I know there are bad words on this playlist. Yes, I also know there are quite a few covers that technically probably shouldn’t be on a best of the decade playlist. Also, no I haven’t caved and listened to Hamilton yet. I know, at this point I’m just being stubborn.
“Raising my children in today’s society won’t be drastically different from when I was coming up. I always tell them the truth about this society, and what they can expect from it. My son, at age 7, knows a lot more about his surroundings than I did at his age. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has brought more awareness to our troubles with social injustice and systematic racism; even though these have been obvious issues for centuries.”
“Being a black dad in today’s society means facing the challenges that all fathers face while also battling against the issues specific to black dads. These issues include but are not limited to: teaching my children to see their own beauty in a society that teaches them they are not beautiful, combating the false stereotypes that surround black dads, teaching my black son who is white passing, how to navigate white spaces that don’t see his blackness, worrying that we will be treated less than human when encountered by police, living in the reality that a traffic stop could mean my children grow up fatherless, working my ass off to be a phenomenal dad just to be seen as an ordinary one by society. And understanding in a society that believes differently, that I am an amazing black dad and I am not an anomaly. I am not special in this regard. I am part of the majority of great black dads.
The BLM movement has impacted me by making me more vigilant in understanding my rights. It has taught me to be sure to record every police encounter I have, and it has inspired me to do my own research and form my own opinions and conclusions on policing, sentencing, and political candidates.
My hopes for raising my children in this day and age are that they will be seen and embraced as whole people by all of society. I hope they will be afforded every liberty, allowance, opportunity and right that their rich, white, male counterparts are.”
