Launching a blog and a Facebook page is not easy but what is the hardest part is not thinking of content or time management, but rather finding a picture to fill in the blank that websites demand of your face. I couldn’t find a recent one and certainly not one of JUST me. The one I have on display to answer the demanding call of web pages is  a year and a half old, not of me alone but with my husband.

I am a chronic picture taker of my children but avoid being in front of the camera like the plague.

Ten years ago I was all about the camera. Loved taking pictures and loved displaying those pictures.

As the years have gone on I’m in less and less of the pictures displayed in our home and I spend more time behind the camera instead of in front of it. Lack of confidence and the disappointment upon seeing an unflattering shot of myself (which ultimately leads to me nit picking my appearance and even more of a hit to my confidence) leads me to believing the camera to be the enemy rather than friend.

Overthinking (as I always do) this tendency, is this fair to my loved ones? To avoid capturing memories with them? To miss out on shots that freeze times when love and fun were all around us? What a petty thing I realize, again giving power to fear and doubt in life where I should be strong and embracing. So another item is added to the bucket list of this year of “finding myself”: Take more pictures with the ones I love and have others take pictures of ME and just me, as the woman, mother, friend and daughter that I am today, that I am now. To celebrate what I have overcome and where I am going.

I challenge all of you who find themselves shying away or feeling frumpy in front of the lens. Embrace who you are and all the beauty that is there to share. Get in front of the camera with your kids and slowly kick them out, one by one, and take one alone. Maybe with a little shoulder showing too 🙂