Wednesday 19 May 2010

The Gallery. Self....


OK, here's the thing. I've said before that I wouldn't post a picture of myself on the blog. But Tara at Sticky Fingers has made it so hard with this week's Gallery post - subject, self-portrait. And she's also pointed out, quite rightly, that we mothers don't tend to appear in pictures all that much - we're usually the ones wielding the camera, or hiding behind a cute baby.

And Tara referenced another post, by Laura at Are we nearly there yet Mummy?, on a subject close to my heart: What if my children grow up and wonder where the heck Mummy was?

I love finding new pictures of my mother, who died when I was 25, and I'd love my children to have lots of photographs of me for future reference - whether or not I live to 100. Going through our photos from the last few years, I find that nearly all of the ones that feature me are me holding one, or both, of the boys - there are hardly any of me alone, looking like, well, me.

So I'm going to post a photo I've found of me a few months before falling pregnant with Littleboy 1. I'm on a walk in the Lake District. I remember it well; I'd just got back from a round the world trip after giving up my job to go freelance, and was full of excitement and anticipation, hoping to start my family. So, Littleboys, this was Mummy, alone, six years ago. I don't think she's changed that much. But she wasn't yet a parent, just a 32-year-old girl full of hope and wishes. Can you tell?


20 comments:

mothership said...

aren't you lovely! And I'm sure you don't look a day older today. xo

Jen Walshaw said...

Nice to meet you, yet Tara and Laura tugged at my heart strings too

Anonymous said...

So nice to see you!

Millennium Housewife said...

I think I'm going to go over to Tara's and look at the challenge. I am the one behind both the picture and video camera all the time, I often wonder if anything happened to me I would be just this voice, commentating on their lives coming from the TV.
Last month my sister traced a school photo of my dad when he was 11, he's now 65, and showed me. The challenge was to pick out my dad from several hundred boys. When my eyes finally alighted on his face, it was unmistakably, emotionally and strangely him. It was then I realised that there are no photos of my dad prior to his marriage, there just wasn't the money or circumstances. I have lived with that moment everyday since, the awe, wonder, love and most importantly forgiveness I feel for him by simply seeing him as this child. I wonder what my children would think if circumstances were the same?
Why would it be so weird to show my face on my blog? Maybe because it's a bit of a persona (the Husband definitely is, as my poor long suffering real Husband says mournfully)and I fear it would break the fun of it to show a real person. I don't know, but as this is the longest ever comment I've ever left for anybody, it must be something I should give some thought to! x

Dorset Dispatches said...

It was all before you - everything was on the cusp of beginning. What a lovely picture to be captured at such an amazing time of your life!

Nice to see you as well. x

How I Like My Coffee said...

You look so happy and healthy. Lovely

Home Office Mum said...

So excited to put a face to a name, and what a lovely face and pic! I agree, hardly any pics of me either.

alison said...

Lovely. And like Tara says, you've taken on the real meaning of the theme.

Melaina25 said...

Lovely photo! I've done the reverse of you and swapped the US for the UK :)

susie @newdaynewlesson said...

Love the picture!

So sorry about your mom.

Tanya (Bump2Basics) said...

Lovely photo and sentiment behind the shot. Was your around the world trip amazing?

March 17th said...

Hello ! Great picture - I have just come across Tara's site and am toying with the photo ! x

Calif Lorna said...

How very nice to see you! I can completely relate to finding additional photos of someone you've lost, it's like getting a little bit of them back.

So glad Tara's forcing us to do this!

Iota said...

It's been lovely, seeing all these bloggers. You look serene, but excited - if that's possible.

Dumdad said...

That's true about photos: pre-kids our albums feature me and my wife and family and friends; post-kids it's mostly just them. Which is normal, I suppose. I'm a bit further down the line than you - my son's 16 and my daughter 12. Yes, where did the tempus fly to?

jfb57 said...

I think this is a picture of a very confident person who is at peace in with nature.Great to meet you!

Bush Mummy said...

Lovely to see you! Makes the blog so much more personal when you know what the writer looks like!

BM x

Iota said...

Lax parent! That made me laugh.

nappy valley girl said...

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed seeing me.....it's been fun, seeing everyone in the flesh. But I'm not going to be posting pictures every week. Oh, no....

bubbleboo said...

What a great picture - and a great story behind it, too!


I’m only just now getting round to visiting everyone! It was my first Gallery this week – sure picked a great one to start with!