Just about 26 years ago I was faced with a decision that changed the course of my life forever. Every day I am thankful to my mom for ALLOWING me to make this decision. ♥️⠀
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You see I was just 13 and faced with the fact that I was 8 months pregnant. Up until then I hid my pregnancy (even from myself) with tremendous fear. While my mom was away, a very special Auntie convinced me to go to the doctor. Once we were certain, we called my big sister (in the US) and begged her to tell mom. 😭⠀
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Mom could have said no, you’re too young to decide – but she strongly felt it was my decision to make. ✨⠀
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It wasn’t until I was certain that my mom knew about me being pregnant that my belly began to show. I think for the first time in 8 months I felt like I could fully breath. ⠀
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People treated me differently. I was thirteen and visibly pregnant. At the time we lived in Brazil. Jaws dropped and they just couldn’t believe that I was pregnant. Despite being thirteen I actually looked younger with my babyface and skinny frame. The only thing that screamed woman were my double D’s and belly carrying a six pound baby girl.🤰🏻⠀
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The truth is having Jessica saved my life. ✨Becoming Jessica’s mom made me choose better for myself and for her. ♥️ ⠀
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Every day I am thankful to have had the choice. To have made a decision and lived it through wholeheartedly. To believing for a bright future for Jess and I despite what others had to say or what the current circumstance looked like. To those who journeyed with us. To Jess for believing in herself and living her best life. To everyone who inspired us near and far. To YOU who are reading this. To all of my family, friends, clients and vendors. THANK YOU ♥️

We believed and hope you will too. 🦋⠀

Believe in your dreams, in what it is that makes your heart happy. Each day choose to thrive. Choose to find gratitude for your journey. ⠀
Cheers to living your best life. 🙌🏽
Happy Thanksgiving 🍁

The image I’m sharing here was taken with my Hasselblad medium format film camera while in Paris this past October. If you’d like to see more please check out: https://shop.judithrae.com **enter your email to access galleries**

Our hope for this blog post is that it continues to inspire you to dream, to grow and to create in fabulously authentic ways. May we all deepen our sense of creativity, cultivate change, fulfillment and joy in our lives and take time to acknowledge all that we have to be thankful for!

As always, we truly appreciate your friendship, your continued support and generous referrals.

If you have any suggestions, questions or thoughts please call or email judith@judithrae.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

sweet regards,

Judith Rae

917.363.9094
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Photo: www.judithrae.com