Family Portrait

I've always preferred candid photos over posed. I love the reality that is depicted and the stories they tell. This picture in particular has always resonated with me.

We've stopped for a photo in front of the Washington Monument and nobody can look up because the sun is so bright. My mom is holding us closely and smiling as though all is perfect. A real smile. You can tell just by looking at her eyes.

That's the thing about my mom, she was always happiest just being a mom. She also happened to be a single mom serving in the military. We moved around, saw husbands come and go, but my mother's love swaddled and protected us from the harsh realities of her world.

We were such a happy little family that my brother and I never really knew things were supposed to be different.

Somehow my mom managed to carry out all of her roles in such a way that we never felt deprived of anything.

That's what I see when I look at this old picture. No, life was never perfect, but we were blinded by our happiness to that fact. We had each other, and we had a mother who was strong, confident, nurturing, and completely selfless.

About 10 years ago I framed this photo and gave it to my mom for Mother's Day. She thanked me and was happy to have received it, but she was puzzled as to why I chose this particular picture. Our albums were filled with better pictures of the three of us...professional portraits with us all actually looking at the camera. My explanation at the time was something along the lines of, "I don't know, I just always liked this one."

Well, Mom, only a decade later and you finally have a more complete explanation as to why this image of our family is so meaningful to me. Consider it the second half of the gift. :)