I exist...
Have you ever said those words to yourself? As a momma I have. We are so consumed with the role of caretaker for our family that sometimes we may say under our breath "what about me?"
Someone shared with me that the first 2o years us women day dream about our family, the next 20 about our kids growing up and leaving the house and the next 20, missing the days they were little and home. I have to agree, we live in a society that we tend to rush each season of life and not stop and simply live in the moment. We push each tomorrow without standing still in the TODAY. Sometimes with those tomorrows we start to forget about ourselves a little, we become so rushed with the daily chores that taking a shower first thing in the morning becomes something we do when everyone else is asleep (that's me). Brushing our hair takes so much time that we rather just pick it up in a bun. We start slowly stepping behind the sidelines to cheer for everyone else but ourselves, now I am not saying that is bad... I think that motherhood changes us to become a self-less being and that is a beautiful trait to have.
Have you ever gone to a family function and taken a million pictures?
I have, I love capturing moments but one thing I notice is that there are a million photos of everyone else, including my husband and zero of me. Where was I? I was there! Oh that's right, I was the one behind the camera. I jokingly tell my husband that my kids are only going to remember him. There it goes again, a momma in the sideline because we want to make sure that the memory doesn't just stay in our minds but we also think about the smallest details like taking pictures to be able to look back at one day.
Why is that we are hardly ever in the photos?
There are a million reasons why we aren't, one common one is that we simply forget, we think about everyone else but us. Another one that is quite popular and even with me as well is "first I need to lose weight and then I'll book a session" To tell you the truth, our children don't look as us the way we do. Our children will never look at our image and judge our bodies. Our children want to have a photo of us to look back on one day when we will not be here on earth, photos are memories we leave trailing behind. They are our own personal family history book.
What I am trying to say here is momma, you do exist. Stop for a second, take charge and do something self-less for you, capture yourself with your children. Embrace the imperfections, your wild hair and those extra pounds from carrying a child within you. Give your self some grace and let others know you exist too!
One of the best ways of doing that is through photos, trust me there is a photographer waiting to capture the magic, get lost in the embrace of your child, the sand under your feet and those sweet kisses. Leave your memories trail behind.
