Wednesday 16 June 2010

Motherhood - The Gallery

This week, I didn't think I was going to do The Gallery - I'm doing this so late, I'm almost wondering why I'm posting. The theme is Motherhood - emotive, precious and guaranteed to whirl up a maelstrom of emotions. I looked through the photo archives - there are so many photographs of my boy, but not so many of my boy and me. I remember sobbing on Friend from Way Back's shoulder a few years ago as I lamented the lack of photographs of me and O in his babyhood. I was too tired, too fraught, too caught in the headlights to want to be in photographs when he was tiny. And now I wish I'd just said 'sod it' and poked my weary face into the pictures a little more.


There is one photograph that I love and to me represents that early motherhood. It's of me breastfeeding O and he's got his little hands clasped together in front of him as he feeds. It's a tender moment captured forever and given what happened to the breast he's feeding from a few years later, it is all the more important and poignant. I don't have a digital version of this picture - it's a real live photograph, taken with M's old Olympus SLR. I've taken a pic from my phone of it. Look at those little hands (please try not to focus on the mammoth bosoms)


That was early motherhood - the whole time seems tied up with wild and crazy see-saw emotions for me. I loved my baby, but I was a bit of a state and seemed to sleepwalk through the first two years of his life. Much as I love this photo, it is not the one I want to represent my motherhood.

I am much more with it now that I am the mother of one soon-to-be-six-year-old. I often look at this bouncy, funny, stroppy, dreamy, intelligent and beautiful boy and wonder if it is possible that I will ever be able to tell him how much he means to me and how my whole self aches with the intensity of my love for him. This is my entry for Motherhood - this picture of this fabulous boy. He is comical and cheeky, but lately sometimes so brave and wise and caring beyond his years when his mummy's struggling to keep the difficult stuff from breaking through. I love him more than he will ever know - he is my gorgeous boy, my only child and his happy face in this photograph makes me smile and reminds me how lucky I am to be his mum...

8 comments:

  1. Oh Wife, both such lovely photos. You are making my jetlagged brain want to weep, but it is too tired.

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  2. What really beautiful photos and what a handsome kind boy you have. You must be a very proud Mummy x

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  3. What an amazing post, so moving. He is adorable :) Love both of the photos.

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  4. What a lovely post, great pictures ;)

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  5. Laura - thank you, Wifus. You will remember the sleepwalking version of me. What a daft thing she was. Now dry those tears...

    Liz - I am proud. He is a real darling. And really cheeky too. Was fighting him off today as he was trying to give me blurts on my tummy in public! Noooo..

    Livi - so nice of you to say that. Both of the photos are really special to me. His hands in that first one are so sweet.

    Mirka - thank you for your comment. It's always a bit of a leap getting the bosoms out on t'internet... :)

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  6. Sian - MummyTips / CyberMummy Here...... I've just posted with the info you need in order to get your pic printed for the real life CyberMummy Gallery exhibition courtesy of Photobox.
    http://www.mummy-tips.com/2010/06/cybermummy-gallery-get-your-pics-in.html
    Do add http://www.Mummy-tips.com to your blogroll if you like what you read...

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  7. Fab pictures and a lovely post. Those little hands are just adorable.

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  8. so glad you did decide to post. A very moving post. Heart telt and poignant. Thank you.

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