2026 : 1st Quarter Check-in

3/14/26

I intended to do this at the top of the year, but the universe advised me to focus on the work at hand.

With every New Year, comes the resolutions. The burst of determination and discipline to change the habits we aren’t happy with. The trick is, not waiting to til the new year. This year, I began late last year, so that when the time arrived, I’d already be in the swing of things.

It’s been working for the most part. I’m far from perfect…I have my days (weeks) when I totally go off script…And that is the biggest change - being comfortable with not doing everything correctly and the ability to give myself and others grace. Being able to get past that has been freeing, enabling me to do more. Realizing the power of my thoughts has been profound, especially witnessing things you’ve manifested take shape in front of your eyes, in a timely fashion. Like instead of months and years, I’m talking weeks, even days sometimes. Being in the now is a present.

If you are into astrology, you might know the planets have been moving into very unique positions (and will continue to), marking prominent shifts, that are already giving way to new landscapes. I’ve already been feeling the effects personally, in different ways. The universe even created some time to think about all this, while snowed in at the end of January.

To be a bit more transparent, over the last three years, I’ve been caring for my mother who suffers from Vascular Dementia. Having a parent that has befallen this terrible condition has only deepened the meaning behind my role as a photographer - especially one that focuses on documenting life and capturing the candid moments. These are the very moments that she is no longer able to hold on to…She had been living with me for the last two years, and in late December, I decided that I was going to have to start looking for a Nursing/ Memory Care facility. As difficult a decision it is to make, I had to be honest with myself that I reached the point where I realized I’m not qualified to give her the level of care that she needs anymore.

As I said, my mom had been living with us (my family), and to keep her comfortable, we had been splitting our time between MD/DC and NYC every month.  So upon our first trip of 2026 to NYC, my mom ends up having an episode, and I had to check her into the hospital. Once in the hospital, I was able to get the assistance of the social workers on staff, that were able to help me find a place for her. Something that I was thinking was going to take months to accomplished happened in a week.

For the last quarter of 2025, I had been preparing to reemerge, (after taking time away to focus on my mom), and get back to work… And was planning on doing this, thinking I would still be full time caretaking (I don’t know what I was thinking..lol). But the universe had another plan in mind.

Even though the result was positive (and the best case scenario), you don’t realize the amount of weight you are carrying around until you put it down. The realization of all that I had done (and am still doing) for my mother was profound, so I’m grateful for the time to be still and recalibrate while we were snowed in at the end of January

The month of February was devoted to a passion project that I shot in 2024, and have been quietly working and planning for it’s presentation. I’m happy to announce that as of March 5th, 2026, I had an exhibition open in Washington, D.C.!

LIVIN’ PROOF is a collaboration between myself and artist, Chrys Seawood, as we explore the topic of Sneaker Culture reaching a level of maturation. Worn sneakers, (the subjects in my collection of photographs, as well as one of the featured element in Seawood’s Monumental structure), are seen as memory items like a relic or fossil, that hold individual stories as well as a collective history.  If you are in the area, please stop by Chela Mitchell Gallery located at 1325 5th Street, Suite C (Washington, D.C. 20002), in the Union Market District. If you love sneakers & art, you are going to enjoy this!!!

I will be posting more about the show very soon, stay tuned!!!

Hoping that your year is off to a positive start, and you are finding ways to combat the current events of the day. I will be continuing to build on last year’s consistency with posting, as well as these quarterly check in’s. Be well and safe in all your travels.✌🏽🙏🏽🧡