I still have a lot of random thoughts that run through my head and these are the ones I had today.

Are you a football fan? I am such a fan that I have scheduled myself to work on two different Superbowl Sundays without realizing it.  Yes, there should be all kinds of sarcasm read there.  I started to pay attention because my husband watches so much football if I don’t watch a game WITH him I would never see him on Sundays. Or Monday and Thursday nights, or Saturday for college games.  Yes, I live with someone obsessed with the game.

But this post really isn’t about that.  It is about the fact that this year NBC and the NFL conspired to break me.  An awesome matchup between the Eagles (YAY) and the Pats (BOO) that was thrilling to watch from start to finish, commercials that made me laugh and cry at the same time, and finally an episode of This is Us immediately following the game where you finally see how Jack died.  No worries, I won’t spoil it.  But that was the trifecta of emotion that I am sure left many in a puddle of tears.  I will be 100% honest and admit I didn’t watch the show until the next day because I decided 5 episodes ago that This is Us is not something I would watch again without someone to cry with me. I have had “To Build a Home” playing on all the devices in loop mode since last week’s episode.  If you have not heard the song click HERE.

Did you see the Toyota commercial?  While watching it live I was glued to the story and something was caught in my eye.  At the end I was a bit surprised it was a Toyota commercial and experienced a bout of brand confusion.  What in the world did Lauren Woolstencroft’s story have to do with a car company?  I honestly thought it was a commercial for a research company or someone like GE that makes innovation possible? In the last 24 hours, I have rewatched this short video at least a dozen times.  It is just so moving.

 

So the whole point of this post to talk about the storytelling of that day.  I started the day with a family session bright and early at 7:30am with one of my forever families.  This is what I call my families that thankfully rehire me each year so I can watch and document their kids grow.  As Aidan pushed a chair across the kitchen floor I was having a tiny bit of deja vu because Ava had done the exact same thing 3 years ago in the kitchen at their old house. None of us know what Ava and Aidan will grow up to be, but I know I want to make videos that show the world what the tiniest of my clients were like from the beginning. My videos are never going to be used in a Super Bowl commercial, but I promise you will still smile or cry.

Final thoughts… if you aren’t crying 30 seconds into that Toyota commercial I question if you are human. I am still crying at 33 seconds every single time I watch it. Bravo to everyone involved in making it.

It feels super weird to write a blog post and share a Super Bowl commercial and not share something of mine.  It’s only been 36 hours so the film I shot isn’t ready, but here is one I made for them in August.  Just imagine them dancing in Batman/Girl Halloween costumes and that will prepare you for what comes next.

You don’t have to imagine, just click play to see their Super Bowl Sunday film.  And really you should just watch the one from last year as well.  That one includes footage from all three of their previous sessions and you get to see baby Aidan ::in love::