Monday, September 3, 2007

Moving Out of the Shadows - BSM


This is my favorite shot from this week (there were a lot, actually!) and I can't believe that because it's Labor Day, I almost didn't even realize that it's Monday...and I almost missed Best Shot Monday. So here I am, better late than never.
I love this picture not for its technical merits or even its beauty, but for what it signifies for me. As my son walked away from me on the playground on the first day of school, I shot this picture of him...and at first, I tried to get my shadow out of it. Until I realized that my shadow is exactly what he's walking out of.

Over the last few weeks, there have been a lot of comments on my blog by new visitors (hi there! thanks for coming!) asking questions or wanting to know more about my job as a rabbi and what that means. I can't tell you all about it in one blog post but I plan to continue to write about my life and perhaps more about being a rabbi (since it seems to be interesting -- and btw, I apologize to those who commented on my Thursday Thirteen last week -- I have been under the weather and couldn't respond!)...

Which is all a long way of explaining my shadow.... up until now, my son has always been in Jewish preschools/daycares. I have always been somebody -- I'm not just a mommy, but I'm also the mommy who is a rabbi. People ask for my advice or invite me to come in and speak. They have a sense that I'm involved on a higher level in the community (and in a sense, I am).
In public school, which my son started last week, I am not really anybody more than a mommy. Of course, the school is wonderful and I'm not implying that they are treating me or my son in any way badly. But for now, he is on his own. He doesn't have my shadow to trail around after him as "my mom is the rabbi." He has to leave my shadow behind. I cannot completely control his environment any longer.
And so this picture...which as I took, I knew, would be this post,
and as I took this picture, I knew it was true.


My little baby is growing up, moving out of my shadow.

May he forge his own path, and may it lead him to a life of great fulfillment.


See more Best Shot Monday here.
(ooh, and see my BSM button over on the right!)

5 comments:

Brittany said...

That's a really neat shot! :)
I couldn't believe it was Monday, either... and that the summer is "over"... :(

a said...

I'm so glad it's fall!

I love your picture, and the story that goes along with it. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Melody A. said...

That was just beautiful!! What a perfect shot to go with it. It's just incredible the amount of emotion that comes about with just one event.

And a rabbi? I'm so intrigued.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

what a cool shot! very symbolic. :)

Robin said...

What a wonderful joining of photo and prose. I love the shadow symbolism.