mom gets in the picture!

On the first Mother’s Day that I actually was a mom, my son was less than a month old. In the nearly four weeks that preceded that day, I had managed to take photos- so many photos- documenting every single day of his new life. (I assume this is not out of the ordinary.) A few days before my first Mother’s Day, a co-worker (who had been subjected to this endless and shameless documentation) sent me a lovely email wishing me a happy day and reminding me to pass off the camera for a few hours so I could get in the photos. I never forgot that message. And I completely failed at it. My first Mother’s Day came and went, a truly special day and one in which I also realized that I now appreciated my own mom more than ever before, but I did not remember to take a single photo of me with my baby. This scenario played out for the two Mother’s Days that followed as well. Lots of pictures of my child. No pictures of me with my child.

I write this message today to my friends and all moms, because I know I’m not the only one who seems to be missing from photos. It’s hard to take photos and be in photos and since it often (not always I know, but often) is mom that is taking the photos, she forgets to jump in them sometimes too. So dear friends, hand over your camera, cell phone, or whatever you have to the nearest passerby and grab some photos with your kids this year- I promise you won’t regret it! As times goes by it’s likely that these photos will end up being your favorites for years to come.

As for me- Yay! I finally got those Mother’s Day photos I have been meaning to take for three years. With the help of a sweet little shutter remote my mom gave me for my birthday recently, I can now take photos and be in them at the same time. This very well may change the way I take family photos and document my memories. And of course, as with so many other things in life, I have my mom to thank for it.