More Feels Than Photos

Rooted Light Photography
Jul 22
2 min read

The Best Kind of Wealth: Time Together

This past week, I experienced a quiet kind of magic—one that doesn’t sparkle in pictures, doesn’t clamor for attention on social feeds, but sits deep in the heart. Three teenagers, my three, chose to spend the week with me. Not out of obligation, not bribed by incentives, but willingly. Happily. They were excited, even. The idea of another road trip across the province sparked something familiar in all of us—adventure, connection, curiosity.

There’s something sacred in that.

Teenage Willingness: A Rare and Beautiful Thing

It would be easy to joke about how teens “never want to hang out with their parents,” but this crew has always had that spark for shared moments. It’s not lost on me how rare and precious it is. We laughed, joked, and wandered our way through little towns and scenic stops—sometimes driven by cravings, sometimes by instinct, sometimes just following the road with no real destination in mind.

Yes, there were screens. Yes, we stayed in town longer than planned once because—priorities—Wi-Fi. But then there were long stretches without it too. And no one complained. Not once.

A Family That Pitches In

There was no nagging, no heavy sighs when it was time to set up camp or clean up after a messy meal. Everyone pitched in. Not perfectly, not with chore charts or expectations—but with presence. With a sense that this experience belonged to all of us, equally. That the memories we were shaping were worth the effort.

More Feels, Fewer Photos

It’s funny—this trip didn’t come back with dozens of gorgeous photos. Maybe that’s the truest sign that we were in it. Living it. Soaking it in. The photos I did take, I’ll treasure, but the real story was written in laughter, roadside snacks, spontaneous playlist singalongs, and sleepy silence under starlit skies.

We faced small challenges—some logistical, some emotional. We fixed what broke. We ate too much junk food. We probably smelled like road dust and soggy campers for most of the week. But we came home smiling.

The Most Precious Thing

I would trade every shiny new thing in the world for more time like this. These shared memories—raw, real, sometimes chaotic—are the greatest gifts I could ever hope to collect.

This trip might not have been the most photogenic, but it filled my soul. And maybe that’s the kind of story worth telling most of all.