Homage to Mamas – A Mother’s Day Message

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and already the race has begun to find flower bouquets, buy boxes of chocolates, and prep a scrumptious breakfast in bed (that is to say – if my family is reading – I hope that’s what is happening). Yet, speaking from decades of experience as a daughter myself, there’s never really an adequate way to get the Mother’s Day message across. I have come to believe that it’s physically impossible for us to fit such a massive amount of appreciation into any gift-wrapped trinket or heartfelt handicraft…though chocolate usually comes pretty close to getting the job done. Even if our attempts generally fall short, still we do our best to show them just how much they matter.

In the eyes of young children, moms are super-human. They never tire, never waver, never wonder what to do or how to act. They are unbreakable, unshakeable, and even when under pressure they never seem to break a sweat. Then, as we grow up, our perspective changes: we begin to notice the effort. We start to see that school bag lunches are not packed by tiny fairy elves, but by a woman who has worked a 16-hour day and would much rather throw herself on the sofa than fuss with sandwich-sized Ziploc baggies. But she does it anyway. We begin to notice that clean clothes don’t just magically appear in folded stacks, and that stocked refrigerators require endless trips to the grocery store, and that even moms can occasionally catch the flu – yet she’ll still drag herself out of bed to help with homework.

Whether they work inside the home or clock time inside a cubicle, moms are remarkable women. And they are remarkable not because they are superhuman, or because their pearls are perfectly placed. They are remarkable because of the effort they make. The tireless, thankless, thoughtful effort they put in every single day so that their families are well taken care of.

That is what I photograph and that is what I help families celebrate. So, on this Mother’s Day, I wanted to take a moment to honor the mamas that have created extraordinary families and have given me the privilege of photographing their lives. These are the women who take special care, who plan Christmas cards months in advance, who harmonize half a dozen individual schedules, who plan outfits for all their kids and husband too, and who somehow ensure that everyone arrives to the photo session on time. These are the women who know how precious childhood and family truly are, and who make the extra effort to preserve a handful of worthy memories.

So whether you’re a mother of six, a mama-to-be, or you have a mom who made an effort on your behalf—join me in taking one day out of the 365 to honor the mamas who matter to us the most.

…and to my son, Sasha, I’d still appreciate a box of chocolates.;-)