If you're an overextended mom who dreams of such luxuries as a daily shower, you might be a little more comfortable snapping pics of your kids than getting in front of the camera yourself. But a recent Facebook post by a woman who lost her own mother at the age of 20 is reminding dads everywhere to make sure moms get in the picture, too — because one day, those memories will be everything.
Shared by Cyndy Gatewood, the post begins by addressing fathers directly:
"Dear Dads,
I know you're holding your phone right now. You probably always have your phone in your hand or at least in your pocket. Do her [your partner] a favor and take more pictures.
No, not screenshots of a funny meme you just saw on Twitter.
I'm talking about pictures of her. The mother of your children. The love of your life. The one who works so hard to hold it all together for your precious family.
Take more pictures of her."
Gatewood goes on to talk about all the everyday moments that show how much love mothers have for their children: when they're reading bedtime stories, helping with homework, "rolling around on the floor." All the times that show how "silly" and "beautiful" moms can be. All the times that often go unnoticed because moms are the ones documenting their family's lives, keeping everything going behind the scenes. It's so rare that anyone volunteers to take photos of us but, as Gatewood knows all too well from losing her own mother, those moments matter.
"One day she'll be gone and all the kids have left of her are memories.
Take the picture.
Take the pictures to show them the love she had for them. Take the pictures so they can always remember how silly she was. Take the pictures so they can see how beautiful she was. It doesn't matter if she's in her pajamas and on day 4 of dry shampoo, please, take the picture."
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Moms definitely need to be appreciated, to be sure. But, if you're hopelessly vain (like me) and sometimes have so little time for grooming that you wear your pajamas to the grocery store (um, also like me), you might be resistant to this concept — especially because Gatewood mentions taking the photos "without warning." But Gatewood's next words might make you feel differently:
"My mom passed away when I was 20 years old. All I have are pictures. I stare at the pictures of her holding me in her lap laughing at something cute I must have said. I zoom in on pictures of her hands to see if I have the same ones as I've gotten older.
You can't capture things like that in a selfie.
Please, take the picture."
She has a point, right? (And this is coming from someone who has ripped phones of out people's hands to delete unflattering photos.)
One person who definitely took Gatewood's message to heart is her daughter, Brittney Miracle. She shared her mom's post along with a photo of an everyday mom moment we can all relate to … and admit that, yes, it is actually beautiful:
Sweatpants, tank top … perfection. It's true: Someday her kids will look back on this photo and remember how much their mom cared about them, how she held them and fed them and loved them. And they'll be glad to have this photo, and others like it.
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So whether we moms are camera shy or just occasionally overlooked, maybe we really should all try harder to make sure there are pictures of us for our kids to look back on. Because as Gatewood writes, our kids will be so grateful in the end (and so will we).
