I want to give you one very important piece of advice…GET IN THE PICTURE!!! There are so many times people shy away from a camera. Their hair is a mess. They don’t have any makeup on. They want to lose weight. The list goes on. I just want to remind people that they are not having their picture taken for themselves. Sure that can be a short term bonus. However, you are in fact are having these pictures taken for those you leave behind. To keep your loved ones connected and your legacy alive. So even when you feel like a hot mess, just remember that those that love you do not care about such nonsense. They just want to see you.

Above is a picture of my mom and me at the Jersey shore in the late 70s. (Check out that stroller.). I love my mom’s expression in this image. It is a simple photo but means the world to me.

My mother passed away in July of 2016 from a brain tumor.  On top of no longer being able to eat my Mother’s amazing meals and feel her huge hugs, one of the heartbreaking things for me is that there is now a limit on the amount of photos I have of her. Since I can no longer photograph her myself, I have to go back into the archives and find any photo of her that I have never seen before so I can marvel at the newness of this image of her. I am thankful that no only was my mother a wonderful photographer, but so was my grandfather. Photos were important to all three of us. I wish I had more photos of my mom and me but we were the ones that were always taking them. So I cherish the ones I do find of us together. Looking back, I wish that I had made that a priority.

Please learn from my mistakes.  Don’t shy away from the camera, embrace it.  Your family will be so grateful you did.  I’m not just talking about group shots or important family memories but the every day moments…those are the moments that you will miss the most.  I wish I had a photo of my mom as she emerged from the kitchen and ran to the front door with a huge grin on her face and her arms extended to hug us…it is a happy memory I replay in my head most often.

For example…

Simple, everyday moments like these speak volumes more than the perfectly posed family shots.

Here is my mother typing up my father’s college papers in my grandparent’s South Philadelphia home.

My first day home from the hospital and a few months later in my first childhood home.

A cell phone shot of my mom taking my daughter for a walk around the block on a beautiful summer day…as you can see my daughter’s legs got tired.

Some of my favorite memories with my mom when she was a grandmom, was at in the kitchen of a house we rented in Florida every spring.  My kids would keep her company while she cooked, coerce her for treats, or simply give her a good morning hug.  I am so happy that I always kept my phone or camera near me at all times to get these little moments that mean the world to me.

So remember…get in the damn picture!  {please}