Last Saturday morning my husband joked from the other room, you are NOT taking pictures of the banana bread. Tell me you’re not taking pictures of the banana bread. Giiiiirls, moms taking pictures of the banana bread…
The whole house was giggling. Including me.
As silly as it seemed in that context, the truth is, I wanted to remember everything. The saving of the over ripe bananas with a weekend plan in mind, the assembly line of mashing, mixing, pouring in PJs and Saturday morning bedhead, the licking of fingers, the sound of the timer, the anticipation of the cooling cake rack. It was a perfect morning.
Motherhood memories like that are the sweetest of all. Simple. Authentic. Easy. Meaningful. And the images I take of these fleeting moments are important otherwise I wouldn’t take them. When we choose to take a photograph of something we are deeming it worthy, we are honoring it, we are elevating it into something big. Because being a mom is big. What we do every single day is important. At home, at school, at work, online…it’s all important.
I want to raise my girls so that they know this truth. What I do matters. What we do matters. What they do matters. No matter how small it may seem sometimes, it is worthy. We are worthy. They are worthy. Of attention, of happiness and of love. Everyday. No matter what.
I have been immersed in this reality lately as I have helped to gather some stellar images captured and shared by some pretty incredible women on the web for the Mom 2.0 Exhibit being held at the FotoFest gallery in Houston. The Creative Mama founder Angie Warren happens to be one of them. Yay! I am blown away and so inspired by how many amazing moms are doing amazing things. Like raising thier children, telling thier stories, shooting pictures, sharing their journey; our journey. The sisterhood of mothers we’ve got is pretty darn special. And when I see images like the ones that will be shown at the exhibit (come join us at Mom 2.0 to celebrate) and videos like this one by author mom Katherine Center, I know we’re doing something right. Seriously, get your tissues.
And as for the banana bread? Just as I suspected, it didn’t last long.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful reminder of the beauty of the everyday. Capturing it, savoring it, enjoying it, and respecting it. Love.
no truer words about motherhood.
thank you!
You all make motherhood sound SO wonderful! I can’t wait to know the love you all have and are feeling. Until then, I will keep taking pictures of my pups and their everyday matters : ) Thanks for sharing!
I feel the same way in capturing moments even it is the simple eating of the first orange that my little baby had. I captured it and have that moment to share with him along with so many other small moments. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Such a beautiful message Tracey! And such an important life lesson to teach our children :).
Such an amazing post. I’ll be sharing it with my husband because I’m harassed quite a bit for taking so many pictures… 20 years from now (make that 3!) he will be so happy he has these pictures to help him remember what our days were like. I think your post will help him understand why I do what I do. Thank you!
So true! I hear the same thing from my hubby, but just the other day as we poured over those everyday moments that I had stopped to capture we all (my girls 16 & 12 too) agreed how grateful we were to have those memories. It helps us remember and it reminds us that those everyday moments add up to a lifetime of memories.
Tracey, I adore this post. And I love that you appreciate the everyday as well. Those little moments really are the most important ones, aren’t they? Super sweet.
Love the post – yes it all matters. I am so excited by that.