Nathan
I love kids, always have. I couldn’t wait to be a father and may have jumped into it a little to early, but I have no regrets what so ever. I’m one of those people that believes children bring meaning to ones life, a purpose to care for and teach another human being.
My oldest son Logan was planned for, we were among the lucky couples that had no problems conceiving. We basically lost the birth control and about 6 months later my wife was delivering the good news (please don’t quote me on that one), Nathan on the other hand was a complete surprise.
The first months were a joy, but as Nathan grew we started to get worried about his development. At first we got that ol’ line “Don’t worry, children develop at different rates”. Other parents were saying this, Nathan’s doctor was saying this, but as time went by we really started to get worried. Then on a late night visit to the Children’s Hospital for an ear infection (gotta love those ear infection eh!), the doctor on duty walked in and with in 15 seconds he noticed signs that signaled our worst fears…There was something wrong with our little Nathan.
After a few months of waiting and worrying, Nathan finally got in to see a developmental pediatrician and he diagnosed Nathan with PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified). From what I understand, this basically mean “He may have Autism, MAYBE, but we don’t really know. If it’s not Autism it’s something else, either way theirs something wrong”. At the age 2 and a half years, Nathan is not speaking, has social problems, motor skill problems and has a major case of Momasboyitis, he’s a HUGE mama’s boy!
This last part kinda stings sometimes. I come home from a long shift at the day job and Logan will come running to say hi and jabber on about his day, but Nathan completely ignores me. I do get to have some fun with him with tickling and stuff, but it doesn’t take long till he wants his mommy and goes running. I completely understand that the combination of my working long hours, starting a photography business and his condition won’t lead to strong bond. His mother is his life line and that is why their is such a strong tie between the two of them. But when he runs past me to go to mommy, well it kinda breaks my heart just a little.
I know this won’t last and as he improves (which he is doing little by little) he will come to daddy for more fun and rough housing. Till then I guess I will just have to satisfy myself with snapping pictures of my little guy and enjoying the little time I do enjoy with him…So don’t be surprised if you start to see even more pictures of Nathan.
Tags: Children, Family Life, Kids, London, Ontario, Photographers, Photography, Portraits
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:03 am
Really interesting story. The photo is uber cute as there is something special about seeing children reading to me.
Children are important for sure. I believe we, in turn, learn from them in huge amounts too. Definitely hope to see more pictures of Nathan and I agree, it won't last.
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:19 am
First, if a blog is supposed to show your transparency to your client and how cool or not-so-cool your person is, you've done it with flying colors. Second, I'm not sure what the competitive rates are for Ontario… but next year you should totally up your prices. You're very worth it. And of course its my opinion, I'm not really IN the wedding photog business, however with the way everything flows from twitter, to blog, to your website, it looks like you're going in the right direction. And Nathan's going to totally love those pictures when he gets older. This picture shows your complete care for your son in your mind. That's the sign of great father, tremendous transparency with your reader, very tastefully done. And that's what I think the new generation of clients is looking for with blogs and tweets and so forth. Looks like you're going to be fine mate. See you around the twittersphere. Cheers.
July 12th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
a really really beautiful image of your son. thanks for sharing your story, too.
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