Last week, I did a post on my photography blog about something that has been on my mind for awhile.
I am noticing that the older I get the more stories are real life.
Before, I could easily say “so and so’s friend’s parent passed away”. Now, it saddens me that I can name a lot of friends that have lost loved ones.
20 years ago, I knew nothing about Autism, but looking back can now realize which childhood friends and classmates show all the characteristics yet went undiagnosed all those years and were categorized as “different” by other children. Now, I can’t even count on 2 hands how many friends’ children have some form of autism.
Growing up, I saw kids with Down Syndrome and wondered about them. They were pushed aside in a classroom at the back of the school and a mystery to all. Now, I have a son with Down Syndrome that has opened my eyes to so many things I was ignorant and unopen to seeing.
The older I get, the closer things hit home.
When a friend messaged me a few months ago with some news. I was shocked and saddened.
She was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts.
She will fight it. She will get through it. She is just awesome like that.
It made me think.
In a loooooong time from now :), when my time with my boys has ended, what will they remember of me? What will they have to remember me by? What memories will they share with their kids?
Image from Homegrown Photography
I seriously dislike being in front of the camera. I feel insecure and a little uncomfortable (maybe that is why I opted to be a photographer and stand BEHIND the camera! 
Every year, however, I make the effort to have a session with my family. Why? Because the older I get, the more precious I realize life is and I want to be sure my boys will always have something to remember me by.
A few years ago, I flipped through their baby scrapbook pages. They were filled with pictures of them with their dad, them with grandparents, them with our pets, them by themselves. What was missing? Them with ME!
Yes, there were pictures of me taken with them, but I opted to not scrapbook them because I didn’t like the way I looked.
I am cheating them of the memory of US by not including those pictures. The intimate pictures of us bonding while nursing. The pictures of comfort with them laying on my chest. If they don’t see those pictures, will they remember that it even happened?
For mother’s day, my message to you is this – step away from behind the camera and have someone capture you with your kids – playing, laughing, dancing, cuddling, holding hands.
Our kids don’t see the insecurities that we see within us. They only see MOM and nothing else but your presence matters.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! Enjoy your special day with the ones you love!
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