I was there too...

“One day, all your children will have are pictures of you. Make sure you’re in them. No matter what your hair looks like, your makeup, or your body; they won’t care about that, they’ll just want to see you.””

I catch myself documenting our life and I get caught up in our adventures.  I love to see the growth in my children through pictures, even comparing how one sibling looks to another at the same age and I truly believe that this obsession is panning out to be a virtual baby book that they will treasure one day (I'm hopeful).  But when I flip through those images, I notice that I'm often not visible.  Who is the person behind the camera, behind the Instagram novel telling their story?  That's their mama.

It's so easy to keep my eyes on them, but I want them to know that I was there too.  I was laughing with them, climbing the mountain alongside them, wrestling in the grass, pretending to be a pilot flying through the jungle. I too was coloring for hours, lost in a book about Captain Underpants, imagining that we were being chased by a lion.  I was there when they fell and needed comforted, when some task seemed to scary to try and they needed encouragement, when they accomplished their goal and wanted to celebrate.  I was there too.  I want them to know that behind that lens was their mama, doing everything in her power to make them happy, but also teach them to be strong.

All of my life I've had a slight obsession with pictures and stories.  I would get lost in the mountain of picture albums at my mom and dad's house.  It was like a time capsule, I feel as though I vividly remember everything about my childhood because of those images.  My mom would fill in the missing pieces and then the story of the past would come to life.  I felt connected to the people, places and memories.  I know how powerful pictures are, how they depict a moment in time and can be the gateway to our past.

When my children start scrolling through these virtual albums that I've created on social media, I want the story to be accurate, to be a reflection of what their childhood was really like.  So I'm jumping in more pictures, and you should too.  These images will be what stirs up memories for them years from now and I want them to remember I was there too, right alongside them.

Oh yes, and we can't forget about this guy... he was there too!  If our children remember anything about us at this moment in time, it's that their mama and daddy loved to laugh through this messy adventure and that love was at the helm of every decision we made.  We were there too!