Defining Your Year
If you’re on my mailing list, you might’ve seen my latest newsletter about being intentional about how you want your new year to go. Everywhere you look, the beginning of the year is a time when there’s so much messaging around renewing your ambition and giving it your all this year. We see it when it comes for fitness and New Years resolutions, when it comes to business and careers, when it comes to financial goals…and if you’ve tried in the past to do that New Years “give it your all,” and you’re like most of us, it was a week or two into January when you realized that that’s not realistic.
None of us were made to do it all, and that’s why this year, I’m setting my intention to one word: acceptance. Not every year can be the year that my business reaches new heights or the year that our vision boards come to life, and that’s okay!
Distinguishing Rubber and Glass
In 2026, I’m coming to terms with the fact that life will never be perfectly balanced and that it will always and forever be a juggling act. But I also know that not everything I’m juggling is equally valuable. Some of the balls in the air are glass, like my family and close friends, my health, and the trust and integrity that I’ve built with my clients. Others are rubber - they’re not as valuable and if they fall, I can let them bounce.
What’s rubber and what’s glass can change in different seasons of our lives, and it’s up to each of us to define what it is we’re juggling and what we want to protect above everything else. Whether you’re a parent, a business owner, or both, I’d like to encourage you to take some time to reflect on your priorities for the year ahead, and to give yourself permission not to juggle everything but to let the rubber drop when it needs to drop.
Professional Photography for Your Glass
As a photographer on Mercer Island serving clients throughout the Seattle area, one of the things I love most about working with my clients is that I get a chance to help them juggle their glass.
Sometimes this means a family photo shoot to preserve memories (and make new ones) with their kids, because in the blink of an eye, they won’t be kids anymore. Sometimes it means a maternity photo shoot to celebrate the amazing journey that you’re on and to give you a dose of self care by showing you how gorgeous you are, even as your body is changing by the day. Sometimes it means giving your business a facelift with branding photography that empowers your year ahead.
Whatever season of life you find yourself in and whatever your glass may be, I’m here to help you make sure it stays in the air for 2026 and beyond. Reach out to Jaimié Birtel Photography and let’s chat!