#MomStaysinthePicture

Huffington Post writer Allison Tate has inspired a mini-movement of mothers through her incredibly honest reflection on how we view ourselves:

I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.

She continues:

Too much of a mama’s life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don’t see the way I make sure my kids’ favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don’t know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don’t know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don’t see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I’m up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don’t see any of that.

It’s inspired a photo series, challenging moms to stay in the photo frame and shrug off their insecurities about the baby weight, the bad hair days, and the rumpled clothes.  Half a million people liked her post on Facebook, and thousands have shared their own photos.

We love voices like Allison’s, and we love when people with a platform are willing to put their own insecurities and flaws out there.