From my most recent mother/daughter shoot. I LOVE the expression on little Anyie’s face here. How much does she love her mom?
There is nothing in the world that compares to the connection between moms and daughters. Yesterday was Mother’s Day – a day that I was able to celebrate simultaneously wearing both hats. Truth be told, our family isn’t huge on the whole Hallmark Holiday concept, but what we do love is any excuse to spend time together as a group. Hence, a big gathering at a local restaurant where I was flanked by my beautiful and amazing mother on one side, and my equally amazing and beautiful daughter on the other. (And of course, my wonderful husband and son were there as well!)
My mother has set an extraordinarily high bar for me to reach when it comes to parenting (of course, she being the standard of humility and I being the epitome of hyperbole, I’m sure she’d argue that in fact, she’s not all that. Rest assured, she is.) My mother was always there for me when I was growing up. I confess that I am challenged to come up with tons of specific examples of what we did together when we were young, but that’s because my mom’s presence was just a fact. She just was. She was there when I needed her. There to laugh with me. There to cry with me. There to teach me. There to listen. There to talk (when I’d let her get a word in edgewise). She was just very THERE.
Through her example, Mom taught me how to be truly present in my life. In turn, I learned what it meant to be truly present. For my friends, relatives and my co-workers. For my husband. And of course, for my children.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I’ve had my moments. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a wicked case of adult-onset ADD. I know when I get overwhelmed with multi-tasking, I can space out when someone is talking to me. (I really do hate that about myself). But – when I snap to – which usually happens pretty fast – I come back to the land of gratitude. To the awareness that I have a job and a life that permits me to BE with my children.
“They grow up so fast.” Yes, that they do. But thanks to my mother’s beautiful example, I’ve paid forward the gift of being THERE for my children. And though I can’t stop time, being THERE truly has made me savor the time we’ve had together. I’m blessed to say that I won’t look back on their lives and say, “Where did the time go?” Happy Mother’s Day, Mom – the present you’ve given me is PRESENCE. And that, Mom … that is priceless.
This week’s I Heart Faces challenge was “Family Fun,” and though I know my submission will differ greatly from all the other beautiful posts, I absolutely had to share this project. As a Christmas gift to my brother and his wife, as well as to my parents and to my husband, I worked with my children and my niece and nephew on a “covert operation.”
This photo was my inspiration; I’m a huge fan of the band Queen and have always wanted to re-create this image. However, once we got started, the kids began sharing ideas and creating a wish list of their own — of images they wanted to reproduce.
