Martha: Baby Makes Four
[If you came directly to this post, please read here first for a little background on the project and here for Martha’s first post]
When I visited them at their home near the end of July, it had been sixteen months since I last photographed Martha, Wyatt, and Maddie; and that long since they had said goodbye to Stacy. This visit, however, was so I could say hello – to the newest member of the family, Samuel Rhett Jenkins.
{Click the first image to open slideshow}

When Martha shared with me that she was pregnant and that the baby’s father was not going to be in the picture, we both realized that she was going to have a tough road ahead of her – being a single, widowed mom was hard enough already, and now dealing with all the questions and judgement that might come from suddenly being an unwed new mom. I asked if she would rather just not be part of the project any longer, if that would be easier. She didn’t even hesitate before telling me that she absolutely did still want to be involved. Maybe even more so now.

Stacy’s mother and sister with Martha’s mother saying goodbye at the end of the party. Martha said it was hard to tell her parents about the baby, and it was hard to tell Wyatt and Maddie, but the most difficult conversation she had was with Stacy’s family. She knew they would be hurt, and they were. But then his mother told her that now they would have three grandchildren instead of just two. It was agreed that the baby would have the Jenkins name, regardless of blood.

People deal with loss in different ways. Grief can overtake you (and you can let it). You can accept it and deal with it one day, hour, minute at a time and seek help to work through it. Or you can push it away, deny it, and try to fill its place with other things, people, activities, feelings. You can be sad, angry, bitter, or indifferent. It can cause you to put your guard up or it can completely knock it down. It can cause you to lose all hope.

I told Martha when I was taking this shot that she really seemed so much more content and at peace than she had in all those months leading up to finding out about Rhett, and she said that it was true, despite the circumstances and the chaos of pregnancy and having a new baby to care for alone, she really is in such a better place now emotionally. Therapy can be a wonderful thing, when you are ready for it.

It has been quite a journey for this family over the past two years. They faced sudden illness, death, loss, and heartbreak, but also learned to treasure good health and joy and hope and new life in a whole new way. And I am grateful to be allowed to tag along and see what new adventures lie ahead for the Jenkins clan.