GET IN THE PICTURE!!!
Yesterday Mom, the kids and I all went to
visit Auntie Jessica downtown. Mom hadn't
got to see Jessica's new digs yet & we took
the opportunity to have lunch together.
Before we left the house I asked Mom to
take our picture, together.
As you know I have MILLIONS of photos of
my kids. But generally speaking, I live
BEHIND the camera, not in front of it.
I read this article recently:
I read this article recently:
I really think you should read it too,
but if you don't have time to click on
the link here is a little part of it:
Someday, I want them to see me, documented, sitting right there
beside them: me, the woman who gave birth to them, whom they can thank
for their ample thighs and their pretty hair; me, the woman who nursed
them all for the first years of their lives, enduring porn star-sized
boobs and leaking through her shirts for months on end; me, who ran
around gathering snacks to be the week's parent reader or planning the
class Valentine's Day party; me, who cried when I dropped them off at
preschool, breathed in the smell of their post-bath hair when I read
them bedtime stories, and defied speeding laws when I had to rush them
to the pediatric ER in the middle of the night for fill-in-the-blank
(ear infections, croup, rotavirus).
I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with
them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is
tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them
to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see
how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect
to love, but I am perfectly their mother.
This article really speaks to me.
I don't always love myself in photos so
avoiding being in them is much easier
then putting forth the effort to actually
GET IN THEM.
But I want my kids to see me. Me for me,
years from now, I want them to look back
and see that I was with them, every day.
I don't have to look perfect, (which works
out great) but just real & there, with them.
I want them to see that we are laughing
and smiling TOGETHER.
I know they won't remember all of this.
They are too young. But if I work harder
on making sure they have documentation
of my love for them, my constant presence,
then I can live on with them forever.
I'm glad I do a good job of documenting
the other people they love too : )
I love the way Jessica is looking at Norie
in this picture, she loves her so much.
The girls had a great time entertaining all of
Jessica's coworkers. I think a little comic
relief is just what they all needed, "real" jobs
can be stressful. : )
We followed the visit with a nice lunch,
Norah was so hungry she tried to eat fake
sugar, yuck. She enjoyed the Thai food
much more. : )
We love going downtown, I'm so glad
Jessica works down there. It's the perfect
excuse to go visit. Love her.
Lets wrap this up with one more picture of
my beautiful girls, standing with their mom,
who loves them more then anything!!
Now go take some pictures with your loved ones!!
Have a great weekend!
: )
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