Florida greeted us with a week of promised rain showers and no beach days. We were stressed by the disruption and cabin fever. The next evening we went to the beach. My daughter reached for my hand and then asked me if I had felt nervous when I had started preschool. I had failed to see through my own stress that I had not given her the encouragement and time to open up. I was met by my own tide of emotion. Just maybe planning to do nothing is more significant than always planning to do something. And sometimes perhaps we need a tide to wash through to help us see that.

In this post, New York Photographer Jessica Leigh details the importance of unscripted life sessions to preserving your memories before they fall prey to the 3-month rule.