This is the second year that I photographed Susan and her grandson.
I am always surprised that Susan is a grandmother, because I consider Susan my own age and her grandson is older than my children. Susan often mentions that she is too old for... something. She says she is too old for a tattoo or too old to go on the swings, but then she swings next to her grandson. She still has not gotten a tattoo. She is one of the few mothers without a tattoo. I think that when Susan says she is too old for something she is actually saying something else.
I think she is saying, "his father should be doing these things with us." His father should be going down the slide and sitting on the swing and looking at the homework assignments. Susan says she felt too old to have a tattoo, but I do not think she felt too old to be a grandmother. She wanted her son to experience the joy she felt as a parent. She wanted to grow old watching her son raise his child. She wanted to watch her son be a good husband to his wife Jennifer. Susan is too old to have a grandson without a father.
Mothers of an Angel 7 Susan - Images by bryan farley
For this photo shoot, we met at Webster Elementary School in Madera, California during the first week of school. Susan's grandson attends the same school where Brannon attended. Susan would have enjoyed sharing stories with both boys. During the shoot, Susan probably recalled how her son learned how to write his name in cursive and multiply two digit numbers or climb trees. She probably watched her daughter-in-law and hoping that Jennifer will enjoy Motherhood as much as Susan did.
As for Susan's grandson... I wonder how he will he remember these photoshoots? Nothing can change his loss, but often children are ignored when children lose parents. Susan's grandson will know that a community supports him. He will know that his father was honored.
And he can honor his father.
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