Photographs
How many times have you thought, "Oh, don't take my picture! I look awful"?
**raises hand over and over**
I think it on a consistent basis. Including the day this photo was taken by my beautiful and talented friend, Milinda. We were at a baseball tournament with heat that rivaled lava, game after game in the sun and of course all the moms carrying loads of equipment from field to field.
I hadn't colored my hair before we left so those stringy, course greys were poking through on the sides, and I'd given up all efforts to try and do my hair in the mornings. Makeup was a no go. I mean, it would melt off your face after ten minutes in the stands. (Okay, there were totally moms with makeup on but seriously, what were they using?? They looked like perfection.) And the pimples. OMG. I'm... well over 18 years old. Shouldn't the pimples be GONE by now?!
Leaving the cabin was like, equipment? Check. Cooler with Gatorade? Check. Kids? Check. Ponytail holder and sunglasses? Check.
I am the mom-a-ratzi at baseball games. I'm the lady with the camera, perched on a cooler just beyond the fence, trying to catch the best moment's of all the kids on the field. I'm BEHIND the camera, not in front of it.
But, we have some other mom-a-ratzis on the team, who are extremely talented. And sometimes, all of our cameras point off the field and towards the crowd.
If you would have asked me to pose for a photo that week, I would have groaned. And I definitely might have groaned at a photo capturing my grey hair. But when Milinda sent me this photo... I was awestruck. And grateful. And moved. And grateful again.
Because with one photo, she'd caught one of the most precious moments I think I will ever have in my life. One that I never would have seen if she didn't capture it. I love my kids more than life, and I know they love me. We take plenty of pictures and selfies with smiles galore. But it's not often that you can *feel* the love of your child coming through in a photograph.
For the rest of my life, this picture will be my favorite one of Pey and I. I adore every wrinkle, every grey hair, and every tired eye, because none of that matters to the little girl in the photo. She's just happy to be hugging her mama.
This year, make an effort to get in front of the camera. Make an effort to look around you at gatherings and sporting events and days out and capture special moments of the people you adore. In the moments we feel the least glamorous, we may just find that we end up in the best picture we've ever received.
Thank you, Milinda 
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