Moms and Photographs

Pictures Are Worth
a Thousand Words

By Debbie Farmer

The only thing that can clear a room faster than someone yelling "fire" is a mom waving a handful of freshly developed photographs. All General MacArthur needed to stop advancing enemy troops during World War II was to place a mother on the front-line armed with 14 sets of newly developed slides and a projector.

Since the first day my children were born, I loved recording every moment on film. "So what," I said to my husband, "if our son thinks my name is 'cheese' and can't look me straight in the eye without squinting. I am creating memories," I paused, "and gathering evidence for their years in psychotherapy."

When I started sharing my memories with dinner guests, the mail carrier, trick-or-treaters and anyone else who came within 15 feet of my front door, my house became quieter than a ghost town. Solicitors, while passing my driveway, would break into a sprint and pretend they were on their daily jog. Even religious missionaries would shout their doctrine through a bullhorn from the car.

"Why don't Bob and Betty come over anymore?" I asked my husband one day while barbecuing dinner and feeling lonely.

"Three rolls of baby's first bath," he said.

"What about Frank and Karen?"

"Six rolls of baby's first cold."

"Rob and Sue?"

"Two rolls of baby turning over, followed by four rolls of napping." He paused. "The birth video finished them off."

I wound a new role of film in my camera. "What are you saying?"

"Our children are photographed more than Yosemite," he said, "and most people would rather climb El Capitan during a blizzard in their socks than sit through a roll of baby pictures."

I shook my head in disbelief while I snapped a picture of my son asleep on the floor.

The next morning I pasted more photographs into my children's scrap albums. I cut fancy edges and used stencils between changing diapers and making meals. When I was finished I had a masterpiece of maternal devotion, a tribute of my unconditional love.

I proudly showed my triumph to my husband when he came home from work. "That's great!" he shouted. "We could bring it to the company party next Saturday night, take it out about 10:45 and we'll be home by 11:00." He paused. "Good thinking, Hon!"

I opened my labor of love and began leafing through the pages. So what, I thought, if people would rather wrestle man-eating lions with their bare hands than see my children's pictures. I considered my photographs, along with battery-operated swings and wrinkle-free clothing, maternal gifts from God.

They let me revisit my children taking their first steps, eating their first meal or sleeping in their bassinets. Pictures are worth a thousand words, but to a mother, they are priceless.

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Cover Shot: 10 Tips for Fabulous Baby Photos
• Generations: One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Memories
• Smile for the Camera, Baby: The New World of Ultrasounds
• Talk about it!