Denver Boudoir – Real, Raw, and Here It Is

If there is one thing I have learned in doing Denver boudoir for years now, it is that everyone has a story. Behind the strongest smiles there are often tears behind closed doors.

I haven’t blogged in forever. I could write some apology here, some reason why, and just tell you that life has been SO busy. And the truth is, it really has. My son has gone back to school, my husband is in a new job, and life is insane right now. But that isn’t the REAL reason that I haven’t blogged.

The real reason is that I feel like I have so much to say, but it is so real and honest and makes me cry, and I don’t know that I want to put it out there. That is really, really scary. Being vulnerable and letting people into your heart always is, right?

I’ve always been a very, very honest person. I kind of just say what I think. My mother calls it a lack of tact, I prefer to say forthright but hey, semantics, right? Whatever you want to call it, I kind of just put it out there. I learned years ago that life is so much easier when there is nothing to hide, you don’t have to remember who knows what, what has been said to which person – that shit is exhausting, it really, really is. So rather than deal with that, I don’t hold back anymore.

Until, this year. This year has hit me like a ton of bricks. My daughter was born December 31 of last year, and has been an amazing addition to our family. For that reason and others, I haven’t had a continuous night’s sleep in almost a year now. Which is weighing on me. Even more so because earlier this year I was diagnosed with arthritis, which means almost constant pain right now. Yes, I know there are options, but they are extremely limited while breastfeeding, and because that is important to my family, I wait. Hurting. The lack of sleep compounds the pain, and the stress on top of it is driving me into the ground.

So why don’t I share this, and talk about it more? Because I believe SO MUCH in trying to be positive. In trying to be the change I want to see in the world. I believe in not letting my circumstances define me, and I don’t want to talk about negative things all the time. I WANT positive vibes in my life, I am so freakin’ blessed in so many ways and I want to celebrate that.

I know all of these things, and thank God every day for my blessings – because man, we are so unbelievably blessed in so many ways.

But sometimes, the hard stuff has to come out, it has to be said.

I work with the most amazing clients, one of which has inspired me to write this post. Several of my clients are fighting, or have fought, some pretty tough battles. From health to assault to abuse to so many other things – they have been strong and have come through it even more awesome than they were to begin with.

The next big question is, why the hell do you care about any of this? Brooke Summer Photography is thriving, and I’m learning more and more about the beautiful women I work with. The stories they share, the images we create, the tears that are cried…. I am blessed in so many aspects of my life, my business is a huge part of my life. So while my clients are amazing, and we keep moving forward and creating some amazing images and experiences – I am unable to do some of the things I have done in the past.

This means that, for this year, the Denver Boudoir Photography Studio Soiree will be a little smaller and a little more intimate. This means that I might have to scale back on some other events. I had BIG PLANS for this year – I even have a massive calendar on my office wall to prove it. I was going to be all kinds of productive – but life had a different plan for me this year. So this year I am focusing on my family, my clients, and my health. The Soiree will happen, and next year I hope to make it as big as it has been in previous years. With glitter in cocktails and the fashion show and everything in between!

I want to leave this post with two things:

1. A call to action to join the email list. Yep, you can click here. Why join? Because that is where information will go FIRST. Promotions, parties, and all sorts of fun things – they are always announced in email first. With the Soiree being on a smaller scale this year, tickets will be extremely limited, you won’t want to miss it.

2. An image that I love love love that I created a few weeks ago. Because every blog post is better with a photo, right?

Please be kind to one another. Everyone has something going on in their lives, and we never really know the battle that someone may be fighting behind closed doors.

With love and tears – both tears from stress, and happy tears because I know the blessings and amazing things are yet to come,