Many of you know Jeri Ruetz, who handles all the important details of scheduling photo sessions, creating contracts, and securing payments. In short, she keeps me sane. I was stoked when she drafted the following blog post. It’s always exciting to see others get equally pumped about helping people in need.
I’m a new mom to a beautiful five-month-old baby girl. In an effort to lose some of those extra, unwanted pounds, I recently took on the task of a healthier diet and drinking lots of water. And by lots of water, I mean a gallon each day, to be exact.
Ready to tackle this feat every day, I set an reminder alarm every two hours on my phone and mindlessly fill up my camelback water bottle with crushed ice and fresh, cold water from my refrigerator. Then I chug it all down as quickly as possible. Two hours later, I do it all over again.
At first, it felt like such a task: drinking all this water, having to remember to do it, having to go fill up my bottle all the time. It’s since become my norm, and I can now drink down a gallon without hardly thinking about it.
Until tonight.
Tonight it hit me. While I’m water logging myself these days, there are people who daily have to go to extreme lengths to get even a drop of clean water. Whether it’s walking for miles or bringing it back to their home or carrying their children to get water, their experience of getting water has an air of desperation…of survival. No part of it is effortless or mindless.
It weighed heavy on my mind.
I wanted to drop a refrigerator with crushed ice and fresh water into every one of their homes, but of course I knew I couldn’t.
But tonight I was reminded that I can come alongside the efforts already being made right here to bring fresh water to these people…to give them some sort of ease in getting the water they so desperately need for survival.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Joe on THE APERTURE EFFECT to support charity: water in the past, and I’m so excited that we’re doing it again this year!
As I fill up my cup each day, I’m going to do it with a little more appreciation, remembering those that don’t have the opportunity to drink fresh water today and do my part by helping make that a reality for them through THE APERTURE EFFECT.
Won’t you join me?