I Keep Receiving the Same Email

It goes like this:

“I’m in a slump. My life has seemingly changed in the blink of an eye (as has most people’s). I was a jet-settin’ businesswoman until March. It’s all I’ve ever known. Then, poof, it was gone. I still have my job, thank goodness, but I sit in my office all day and, literally, only have contact with my kids and occasionally my parents. I wear no makeup and haven’t put on my beloved heels since March (like, who am I?). I love the gym. I was a gym rat. I went to the gym a few weeks ago for the first time since March and I couldn’t do it. I didn’t feel safe. Relationships that I’ve come to count on have abruptly ended, leaving me wondering what in the world happened.

I’ve been going to therapy to deal with everything, but...I need a pick-me-up and I have been wracking my brain as to what to do. I can’t go on a trip, I can’t dedicate myself to my gym, I can’t seem to think of anything that can give me any sort of joy and a moment of relief. 

I think I need YOU! I need a session. A badass, glamorous session. It may or may not help, but it’ll be loads of fun. 

Let me know your thoughts.

Best,

N”

No kidding you guys: when this pandemic hit I thought my business was done. I mean, who would think that after 3+ months of a financial shutdown anyone’s priority would be such a luxury as a photoshoot??

Turns out A LOT of women. Like…A-WHOLE-FREAKING-LOT of women. To my utter surprise and pure delight, I should say.

Yes, yes, yes…I was more than giddy at the prospect of not having to find a whole new career path (to say the least), but I will also tell you that I was simply over the moon at being both witness and participant in women realizing that their self-care and investment into their mental health was such a priority. It has been a total dream to watch women come alive again. To watch them take that HUGE, deep breath and exhale what we’ve all been holding in for months on end now: fear, anger, loss of independence and autonomy, loss of routine, investing time and energy into feeling good about ourselves. 

Sure, at first I think we were all like “WOOHOO!!!! Let me get this straight: I don’t have to go to work, I don’t have to get out of my pj’s, I get to be home with my kiddos, and you’re telling me I  shouldn’t even leave my house?? YES! YES!YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!”

And then two weeks turned into 3 months. Now…we are about to glide into the end of month 7 with restrictions and life-altered daily living, and month 11 since this pandemic reached our shores. 

It’s enough to drive anyone mad. 

So, when my calendar starting bursting at the seams, I was kind of in shock but I instantly understood what was going on. Why? Because when I had to get up and start going to work again, I got a shower, got dressed in real clothes, and styled my hair and makeup and I couldn’t believe how much I missed these things. I couldn’t believe how much I missed that fully dressed woman that didn’t look like death staring back at me in the mirror. I felt completely renewed and alive again! 

Who knew hygiene could be so fun?!?!? After 3 months in my Snoopy pj’s, THIS GIRL, that’s who!!

I wasn’t the only one. Women were telling me they just needed to feel like THEMSELVES again. They just wanted to feel PRETTY. They wanted to dress up, put makeup on their faces and for once look in the mirror and see clean, styled hair and not the grease-pit they’ve been ignoring for months on end. 

They wanted to feel ALIVE again. Ohhhhhhhh…..how happy was I? I’d say I was as happy as a pig in shit but honestly I was as happy as a pig in a pink tutu with bright red lipstick on her lips and a magic wand in her hands! Just like that, I began to breathe again myself.

Yesterday, I had a woman start to CRY when she put her glasses on and looked at herself in the mirror after Lee Ann was finished with her hair and makeup. She. Cried. CRIED! I almost cried with her.

So here is your lesson for the day, ladies (and honestly for the rest of the pandemic): take care of yourself. I’m not saying you need makeup, fancy clothes, or even a photoshoot to get right with yourself, but if you find that you too are in some sort of slump, please consider that you just might need a bit of pampering, whatever that means for you. 

Yes, you do deserve it. Yes, you do need it. Yes, you are worth it. Yes, you are not going to be able to care for others until you are caring for yourself. 

If you’ve read this to the end, then I have a reward for you. Just for sticking around, and because I have seen firsthand how much a session shocks a gal back to life, if you reach out to me at elizabeth@elizabethcraigphotography.com, or though my website, and mention this post in your email, I’m going to take 50% off of my session fee for you. I’ll keep this up till the end of the year, but, again, you have to mention this post in your email to get your session fee for $225. 

Come breathe life back into yourself. I promise you won’t regret it.