Childhood Friends | Toronto Photographer of Children and Creativity Melanie Gordon

On Friday, I was sitting at my desk doing some planning for my upcoming Friendship Portrait Event when I got a message from an old friend that contained the above picture that she had taken of me when we were 9.

Harmony and I spent many lazy days together when we were 8, 9 and 10 being silly, laughing until our bellies ached and dreaming about what our apartment might look like when we lived together as adults. We were once a faucet for halloween – I was the cold and she was the hot. We used to “breakdance” on flattened cardboard boxes in her living room. I remember timeless days in the summer where we wandered around the neighbourhood deciding to add an “n” or a “d” to the beginning of every word or seeing how long we could last hopping on one foot. I am so grateful to have had this simple, carefree time.

Toronto Family Photographer Melanie Gordon as a childA week ago, I did a Leader Within session with Sara Smeaton – a coach with whom I will be collaborating to offer a beautiful package to celebrate midlife milestones (stay tuned!) and discovered, not surprisingly, that my “inner leader” is my 9-year-old self. In the vision I had of her she was wearing my favourite outfit at the time – a turquoise shirt with bees on it and red corduroy knickers (remember those??) – and I was beaming.

On Saturday my dad dug out this photo of me at my tenth birthday party wearing my favourite outfit.  Note the snazzy world map wallpaper behind me.

My 9-year-old Inner Leader told me this: “When we feed ourselves stories of positivity and light we become more powerful.”

Remembering the spark in me and the joy and freedom I felt in my childhood is what drives my work in the world. We all have the spark of a child in us. It is also known as our TRUE SELF. I also choose to see it as my HIGHER SELF. Sometimes it can take effort to uncover it again, to “undo” our patterns and stories to allow it to shine.

We KNOW who we are when we are children. We can get convinced though that we need to be someone else when we grow up.

I feel so grateful to have had a childhood that was full of love and creativity and freedom. I realize this is not the case for everyone and I do not take it lightly. My parents gave me the foundation that launched me into the world with optimism and trust and the ability to see the light in people. I can not say it enough, thank you Mom and Dad. I was an only child for 9 years and so friends were really important to me. My older daughter is 9 right now and I have been reflecting on what my life was like in comparison to hers at this age and hope that I’m giving her what she needs to feel free, happy and loved. She has special friendships that are full of play and creativity and laughter. This makes my heart full.

I have decided to offer photo sessions that document the special relationships that children have with their friends because these early friendships create a model for our future relationships. They teach us about trust, kindness, love and identity. I believe friends should be treasured like family.

Friendship Portraits are coming in February, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Join my newsletter to be the first to grab your spot!