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What Happened…Triplets???

Way back in 2012 when we found out we were having triplets I was terrified.  That is a fact my friends, I have never tried – not once in my life – to say that the news that we were having three babies was something that was anything less then mind blowing.  We left a basic ultrasound knowing that we now needed to acquire a van, 3 extra car seats, 2 extra cribs (we at least kept the one from our first child), along with pretty well 3 extra of EVERYTHING; all this while also thinking how to start making sense of how plan to execute such a massive parenting feat.  We already had a child at home (he was 2 years and 4 months when they came home from the hospital), with the original plan to add one more to our family.  Then it turns out we were not expecting 1 – we were expecting 3.  The dumbstruck thought kept rolling around our minds for those first few days of finding out we had three on the way: “What just happened us?”

Enter the TTMAC – the Twin, Triplet and More Association of Calgary; its members who talked me off a figurative ledge more than once during my pregnancy.  They provided the support I needed when I didn’t really have anyone else to lean on.  I did not know many other multiple parents at the time and I didn’t really know where to turn to while feeling like a circus freak.  This simile may sound unduly harsh on oneself, but when you are gestating 3 people at once while looking at all the bizarre equipment created to haul 3 infants around at once, you feel awfully weird. This, along with feeling too tired to venture out, only leaving the house except to the scheduled doctors appointments and other necessary commitments. I had to travel to each week.

The long of the short was that the babies grew and I had a painful but wonderfully awesome pregnancy with the small amount of support I had at home and they grew to 35 weeks and 3 days (almost 4 days) and then real life began and once again I turned to the TTMAC to at least vent to on Facebook so that I didn’t implode taking care of three infants, a very confused 2.5 year old with a severe speech delay and myself with no extra help (except for one week a month when my parents with significant health problems came and let me have a shower and get groceries).

Giving Back.

When life stabilized a bit I found myself needing to give back to the TTMAC.  I have been a Social Worker since 2004 when I got my degree from the University of Calgary (great program if your interested) and I never take without giving back as gratitude is one of the things that lack in our society far too often.  I quickly found myself working as the TTMAC photographer and was honoured to capture the first Christmas Party back in 2013.  The event went awesome and I was invited back to do the Christmas Party Santa pictures in 2014 where we began to discuss fundraising as I really wanted to be able to give back more then just my time.  This proposal was met with open arms and with a few bumps along the way, the year was awesome and in November of 2015 I presented the TTMAC with a check for $1000 from First Blush Photography and all the sessions that I ran between April & September (short of a few make up sessions).

So what happened? Where did Suzie go?

As you may have seen or not seen (or heard or not heard) the TTMAC made the decision to part ways with First Blush Photography (my business prior to the hack job – that blog post will be released soon) in January due to a conflict that could not be resolved despite my efforts to try and work with the Club on the matter.  I provided options to work around the issue but the club decided that the photography volunteer services and fundraising and First Blush Photography were no longer needed – that is what happened.

Now – don’t get your underwear in a knot if your getting cross reading this.  I am not writing it with any malice or anything of the sort.  I loved photographing for the club – it was a beautiful opportunity for me to give back and provide something that is so important to so many people every year – it made me so happy and thankful that I had found a way to share my passion with a bunch of other people and that made me proud – and it likely meant WAY more to me then anyone else which made finding out about the decision the board made quite devastating – they probably didn’t know I would take it so hard.  Part of my identity is engrained with the TTMAC since the very beginning of our triplet journey.   The Twin, Triplet and More Association of Alberta have been a massive support for the last 4 years and to have the door closed to giving what I could was pretty heartbreaking, but proved to be a valuable learning tool for the future.

HELLO! from Suzanne Taylor Photography

Well, with no further waiting, Hello from Suzanne Taylor Photography!  This is a fresh start (again – that blog is coming) and opportunity to begin over and take what I have learned over the last 8 years of being in business and create something bigger and better then it was before.  Hello to all the beautiful member of TTMAC that won’t know me as the photographer but as the fellow triplet mom and can enjoy each public event with my family and hello to new opportunities that were not available to me before all of this happened.  Hello to a new way of doing business external to the club, but with all the perks to the members that they had before and more.

Look – I never wrote this blog post for any reason except to answer the question that I have received MANY times today through private messages on Facebook today now that the new club photographer has been selected and the promotions have begun.  I can only say that I wish the Club and the new photographer the very best of luck and business with each other and that I hope they will find a great working relationship together that creates thousands of dollars of profits going forward for each other – after all photographers must make a living.

For those that have inquired – I am not leaving the TTMAC and of COURSE will still be available to do sessions both this Summer and Fall – like I did before I ever started the fundraising idea with the TTMAC and will continue to offer the discounts to the members I have in the past but with an added perk of a loyalty plan that will create rewards as the TTMAC customers that have used me in the past will enjoy the added benefit of – as well as new members.  In fact I have a spring promotion running right now that will save you around $600 if your in the market for some outstanding images of your children captured in a way that no one ever has before.

Still with me?

If your still reading – yay!  My husband always warms me about the TLTR posts I make on my blog (too long to read) and I try to stop but being a Social Worker for so many years has taught me the value of a full story so I struggle to summarize.

As mentioned previously, this post was written to explain what happened to First Blush Photography’s partnership with the TTMAC and no more no less.  I wish the new photographer much success with their new position and hope that they enjoy the job as much as I did.  I wanted to thank my customers from over the years and need you to know that you not only brought a smile to my face each time I photographed you and your beautiful children, your support helped me to support my family and my love for the visual arts.  I hope that my skill, patience, technique and editing will keep you part of the family that I consider all of my customers to be part of and that I will see you in the Summer or Fall for your yearly session because its always incredible to photograph you.

All my thanks,
Suzie