Senior year of high school is one that holds many emotions, and for this year’s seniors especially, it’s one that contains many lasts and additional challenges due to the COVID-19 national pandemic. The year 2020 is one that will challenge them. Shape them. Push them to new boundaries and test their ability to adapt. It also won’t hesitate to demonstrate that life is hard and will never be quite fair. Any kind of change to a constant in our current lives is never easy to accept, especially when it comes to losing someone we love deeply who has had a major impact in our life.
I had the pleasure of capturing Jacob in front of his Grandpa Bob’s 1963 Ford Sunliner during the height of Nebraska’s fall color a couple weeks ago. I should have known right off the bat when Jacob, his mom, uncle, and aunt rolled into Elkhorn in this beauty that this would be a session to remember. You see, Bob was not only Jacob’s Grandpa, but he was my uncle, too, and his loss has been a big one for our family. How could it not be when you don’t hear his biggest, most unforgettable laugh at every family function?
As we all stood there on that old brick road, and I captured Jacob with a framed picture of his Grandpa in the car, I think every one of us was taken back in time to certain memories we had of him, which made us feel his loss even more. As humans we tend to keep ourselves busy and always be on the go, but when we finally come to a standstill it seems as though that’s when life’s hardships seem to fully hit us dead on.
Jacob, you were such a good sport on that brisk fall day, and I hope you cherish these images for many years to come. Although Bob is no longer here in physical form, I hope these photographs will be something you can show to your kids and grandkids one day and tell stories about him that will help keep his memory alive. Good luck with the rest of your senior year! I know your Grandpa would be very proud of everything you have accomplished.
