Wait, is that…Mom?

I am not exaggerating when I say that I don’t get dressed very often.

Why should I? I spend most of my day playing and cleaning, and I find jeans/dresses/skirts can make that a bit challenging. Mama in yoga pants is a mama who can catch a 20 month old much quicker than mama in wedges (which, I love, by the way). Most days, I shower just to put clean pajamas on.

Which means you don’t see me much. I take lots of pictures of the kids. Most of them don’t have me in it. BUT. But, I don’t want my children to have thousands of pictures of themselves, and none of me. I want them to see how we were, what we did, what we looked like. I want them to know that I was present, that I wasn’t just the one behind the lens, but the one with them. The one that wiped their tears and read them stories (and read and read and read).

I want them to know that I COULD get dressed and look pretty, but I choose them instead. I choose the dried cheerios and the dirty diapers and the spilled yogurt and the crushed egg yolks, the snotty noses and the dirty shirts and the puddles of bathwater. Everyday, I choose to be present with them.

Even if that means that my wedges get dusty and my clothes hang pretty in the closet.

How could I not? They are the most precious jewels I own.

Many thanks to my friend, Sarita, who so graciously allowed me to hand over my camera so I could get in front of the lens for a few minutes. 🙂 Now, where did I put my yoga pants….