Mama in the Picture

I read this great article recently and even though I'm only 2 months into motherhood, it resonated with me.  I only have one picture of myself with Alexander of the million I've taken of him.  Usually because I'm the one behind the lens, but also because I don't think to get in the photo or I'm not 'photo ready' at that moment.

from the article:

"I hesitated. I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.  It seems logical. We're sporting mama bodies and we're not as young as we used to be. We don't always have time to blow dry our hair, apply make-up, perhaps even bathe. The kids are so much cuter than we are; better to just take their pictures, we think...

...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...

...When I look at pictures of my own mother, I don't look at cellulite or hair debacles. I just see her -- her kind eyes, her open-mouthed, joyful smile, her familiar clothes. That's the mother I remember. My mother's body is the vessel that carries all the memories of my childhood. I always loved that her stomach was soft, her skin freckled, her fingers long. I didn't care that she didn't look like a model. She was my mama...

...So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are."

So, a couple of nights ago I asked Art to take our picture...in my end-of-the-day half-makeup and a T-shirt.

I'm glad I did...it's a keeper.

(p.s. putting the 'instagram' effect on a photo seems to make you look better... or maybe I just think that?)