25th February 2002. The day it all changed. After a torturous labour punctuated with drugs, monitors and laudably fanciful birth plans the Boy Wonder was pulled into this world. I won’t repel you with the tale of the stitch-up job by the midwifery trainee, suffice to say it was interminable and humiliating in equal measure.
But that’s not was this is about.
That day I stepped over the gangland lines of delineation, to be inducted into a whole new community. With the birth of my son, I was in many ways reborn. The process had begun – I was a mother, albeit one with much to learn.
Since that day my understanding has grown, I have left that old life behind and only occasionally yearn for the carelessness and freedom that it gifted. I am part of a movement now, sharing commonality with millions of others. We can communicate with only the merest of nods, a raised eyebrow or a weighted sigh. We have strength, understanding and compassion and when we join forces we can accomplish pretty much anything.
I chose this image for the Gallery because it represents three generations of motherhood. (I don’t have the digital images so this is a picture of a picture – please excuse the quality, although the bonus is that the bags under my eyes are slightly disguised.) It was taken on my wedding day, in October 2002, nearly 8 months after I’d become a mother myself. It wasn’t your typical wedding, we only invited immediate family and our wedding night was interrupted by screams from our baby demanding to sleep with his parents and not his grandparents. For all that it didn’t really fit into the fantasy wedding pigeonhole, I loved it. It was about us, our family, and our reason for being.
and this pretty much sums up the whole day:
This post was written for The Gallery, over at Sticky Fingers. The prompt for this week was ‘Motherhood’.
Lovely 🙂
And gorgeous pics too x
Lovely photos Paula!
LCM x
Oh, I am weeping now! Honestly, I am on my second packet of tissues already with today’s gallery and then *wham* you wallop me with this one! It is lovely and so are you, so well put as always. xxx
Wow. Wedding pics and motherhood, and several generations – just beautiful.
sweet pictures!
nice post. x
That’s lovely you look so happy, which is how it should be!
Great family and lovely to see the generations together, I have one with my mum and Gran which i treasure as it was the last one of the 3 of us before my gran passed away. So keep your treasured pics close to you always, thanks for sharing them
Beautiful. Love the pics.
I adore the second image, it reminded me so much of my brothers wedding. My neice was 6 months old and it was just perfect
Both are gorgeous:) Lovely post too:) Jen.
Big smily teary grin over here too 🙂
You always say what I’m thinking.
Yay! You’ve posted for the gallery & what a great one it is! You made a lovely bride! It’s great to see generations I think!
Awww how lovely 🙂
Cant believe how much your gran, your mum & you look alike. It’s great! And wedding pic is a real treasure. I love when you say “We can communicate with only the merest of nods, a raised eyebrow or a weighted sigh. We have strength, understanding and compassion and when we join forces we can accomplish pretty much anything.” It’s a great club to be a part of and one I value every day. Thanks for writing such lovely words.
A beautifully written post..sums it all up perfectly! And lovely photos…You look gorgeous in your wedding photo..
Gorgeous photos! xxx
what wonderful pictures!
Wonderful pictures, I love the second one!
Thanks chick xx
Ah, very kind – thanks LCM x
As are you Chris – this has been such a wonderful prompt and I so know what you mean about the tissues! xx
Thanks so much Julie x
Thanks Paula, I love them x
Absolutely true! Thanks Sharon x
I completely agree – this one is in my wedding album but nowhere on display….I really must remedy that! Thanks x
Ha, Susie you’re here under your pseudonym again! Thanks lovely x
It’s great isn’t it?! The best pictures of the day are the ones with him in them – his facial expressions and unpredictable actions (!) make them just priceless! x
Thanks Jen – loved yours too! xx
Aw thanks lovely girl, this really has been the best prompt for me – reminds me of what it’s all about. xx
Hi,
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 htp://www.Mummy-tips.com to your blogroll if you like what you read…