“Sixty years of a life full of marriages and children, laughter and loss. She was the most important woman in the world to me, but the photographic evidence of her existence didn’t even exceed the maximum attachment file size of a single email” – Kaz Weida
I recently read a blog post by Kaz Weida called, “The Mom Who Wasn’t There: The Ghost in Our Family Photos.” It was a wonderfully written wake up call to all of us who shy away from the camera lens.
When my mother passed away in 2015, I collected every image of her that I could find. I treasure each of them, but there aren’t many. By choice or by chance, she wasn’t often in front of a camera.
Earlier this month, when my daughter headed off to college, I realized that she had no framed pictures of me, her own mother, to take with her. I hate to have my picture taken because frankly, I don’t like these extra pounds. But these are pounds that my daughter doesn’t care about at all. She loves her mama unconditionally, but because of my own vanity, I managed to deprive her of a recent picture of myself to take to school.
The morning that she left, I had her teach me how to use Snapchat. Everyday, no matter what, I send a picture of myself and I get ones of her in return. The filters are fun and they make it a bit less painful.
Working with a professional photographer can make it less painful, too.
Photos mean the world to people who love us, so get out there and take some. Whether you book a shoot with a photographer or just grab your iPhone, be brave and snap a few, then be sure to print them. Your children will thank you. Don’t become another Ghost Mom.