Growing Up

I am a stepfather to two boys. For the past ten years I’ve been watching the boys grow up before my eyes. It has been one of the biggest joys of my life. Before I met the boy’s mom, and before we were married and became a family, I had this impression that I, myself, was all grown up. This project I am working on is based on my realization that growing up never really ends. I’ve discovered that growing up doesn't apply only to the boys, it applies to me as well. Watching the boys grow, and being a part of their lives, has helped me discover some things in life that I’d been missing. Being their parent, and helping to raise them, has made me realize how much I have needed to learn myself. It’s helped me understand that, I too, am still growing - and even though I may be older - I am definitely not all done growing up. The photographs here are part of an ongoing project documenting the transitions of both childhood and parenthood in a modern American family. These photos are a record of brief moments in time, ordinary and special, that are fleeting and quickly gone forever. They’re an attempt to honor and memorialize the moments, that we as children, are so eager to leave behind.