Raising Kids in Richmond
My parents gifted us a Lewis Ginter annual pass for Christmas last year and we managed to not use it a single time in 2024.
Richmond is full of amazing, family-friendly locations for all kinds of families. Parks, playgrounds, museums, restaurants, stores.
The idea of having an annual pass to Lewis Ginter, or the Children’s Museum, or being a paying member of Maymont, are all wonderful. But when it comes time to use those passes, the pull to stay close to home is too great, most of the time.
I wish I was the kind of mom to pack the kids in the car and drive all over Richmond exploring. Belle Isle is awesome. Forest Hill Park has amazing trails. The stairs at Libby Hill Park are great for tiring out little (and big) legs.
But we tend to stick closer to home. Call it laziness, call it inertia, call it cold weather. Call it my lack of desire to be the target of any pre-activity whining or eye rolling, as my family drags themselves to the car and then the children antagonize each other in the back seat.
So we shrink our radius bubble, sticking close by and appreciating the things our neighborhood in Midlothian has to offer.
We have a favorite playground (which is currently under construction and diverting us across the river to our second favorite playground).
We have a favorite doughnut shop, a favorite indoor place to play. A favorite library (we have multiple to choose from here, which is lovely).
These places, simple by themselves, come together to make our neighborhood. The little daily movements, at home, out and about, make up our lives.
We aren’t big “pile in the car for a big adventure every weekend” people.
We’re big “read library books and do puzzles on the family room floor” people. We’re big screens people (there are pros and cons). We’re big “run next door and see what the neighbors are doing” people.
This is our season to be at home a lot, so it’s perfect to choose home for our family photos. This is where we live. Not on the stairs at Libby Hill Park, where my children have actually never been. Here. At home.
Where we make french toast every Saturday and let the kids watch cartoons like we did as kids. Where we play dress up and make elaborate forts with umbrellas and frisbees as toilets like Bluey does. Where we read books in weird voices and play with Legos and color, color, color, color. Where we’re learning how to play chess, where we’re practicing being good losers at chess, practicing being our best selves and forgiving each other and ourselves when we’re less than that and more human.
This is where our life is happening. This is what I want to remember. It’s what I want to help you remember, too. And when your babies are out of their current phase and into the next and you wonder how it could possibly go so fast, you can smile to your partner and say “remember when?” and have the photos to prove it.
Photos at home, where your life is happening, are what I’m here for. You can get more info on family photo sessions here.
And if you want to see more examples of family photos at home, here are some blog posts: