Take the Selfie
“Mom has selfies on her phone.”
“Mom’s taking a selfie over there.”
Kids laughing.
It’s kind of funny… but also kind of telling.
Unless you have a dad who picked up photography as a hobby, most family pictures are taken by moms.
We’re the ones documenting everything.
The stages, the birthdays, Christmas mornings, the vacations, the funny little moments no one else notices.
We have thousands of pictures—prom, sports, holidays—all sitting on our phones.
And somehow… we’re barely in any of them.
Has anyone ever said, “Mom, let’s take a picture together?”
Not in my experience.
Usually it’s the mom trying to gather everyone on a family trip, asking—sometimes begging—for one picture… while getting complaints from kids who just filmed four TikToks in the last hour.
And still… we step back behind the camera.
A Story I Can’t Forget
I remember reading about a woman who lost her mom. She went back through all the family photos, just wanting to feel close to her again.
And she realized… her mom was hardly in any of them.
She had been there for everything. Every birthday, every holiday, every trip. She had captured all of it—but she wasn’t in the memories the same way.
The daughter said she would give anything to have more pictures with her mom.
Not perfect ones. Just real ones.
That stayed with me.
Why It Matters More Than We Think
There’s actually research behind this.
The American Psychological Association has shared that photos help shape the way we remember our lives—our experiences, our emotions, who was there.
Photos aren’t just pictures… they become part of the memory itself.
And when you’re not in them, it quietly changes what gets remembered.
So Mom… Take the Selfie
I just want to say this clearly—
You were there.
You made it happen.
You deserve to be in the picture.
You planned the trip. Packed the bags. Made sure everyone had what they needed. You’re the reason the memory exists in the first place.
So step into it.
Take the selfie.
Smile. Get the background in there—the ocean, the mountains, whatever it is—just to prove you were there.
It’s your little trophy.
And don’t overthink it.
Just smile… because you’re beautiful.
And you are absolutely worthy of being in the picture.
XOXO,
Robin 🤍
