I Wish I Could Photograph My Mom Today

Today, I was about to wear a new dress and, as always, I thought of taking a picture wearing it.

But that thought immediately took me back to the days when my mom and I used to take pictures together.

And suddenly, I missed her.

I wish I could photograph my mom today.

1. My mom was photogenic

My mother was beautiful and, more importantly, she was very photogenic.

The best thing was that she loved taking photographs too.

Today, I miss taking her pictures.

She was never tired of taking pictures and was always happy to give a smile and pose for them. She was always such a good sport.

I could ask her to stand here, sit there, turn this way or that way, and she would happily do it.

There was never any irritation or, “Again?”

She was simply happy to pose.

And I loved photographing her.

Today, when I look at those old pictures, I realize how precious those little moments were.

2. She loved pictures of everyone

Mom was not interested only in her own pictures. She loved pictures of everyone.

I still remember her sitting down, sorting photographs and arranging them in her album.

Back then, we had those hand-bound photo albums. There were no phones where thousands of photographs could sit unnoticed in a gallery.

Photographs were something we actually held in our hands.

We would print them, arrange them, put them into albums and look at them again and again.

Today, those photographs remind me of her.

There was one time when I was about to throw away some photographs of mine because I thought they were of no use.

My mom immediately said, “If you don’t want them, don’t throw them away. Give them to me. I will keep them.”

And she did.

Those photographs are still with me today.

But now, just because my mom had kept them safely, I don’t want to throw them away either.

They have become much more than just photographs.

They are something she chose to preserve.

And that makes them precious to me.

3. A new dress meant a new photograph

It was almost customary for us to take a picture every time we wore a new dress.

I especially loved getting my mom new dresses.

And every time she wore a new sari, it became a habit for me to make her pose for a photograph.

And it became a habit for her to pose for me.

Sometimes I wonder how many photographs I must have taken of her over the years.

I wish I had taken more.

At that time, I never thought about how valuable those photographs would become.

We were simply living our lives.

A new sari.

A new dress.

A camera.

A smile.

A pose.

And another photograph.

Today, those ordinary moments feel extraordinary.

Photographs can do something strange to us. They don’t just show us how someone looked. They can bring back the relationship, the place, the time and even the feelings connected to that moment. Research on personal photographs has found that they can help people reconstruct and reconnect with autobiographical memories and nostalgia. Sage Journals

For me, they bring back my mother.

4. I wish I could take just a few more pictures

I cherish those days.

I wish I could go back in time and take a few more pictures.

I wish I could see her wearing a new sari and ask her to pose one more time.

I wish I could hear her say something while I was trying to get the perfect shot.

I wish I could take her picture and then show it to her.

And most of all, I wish I could put the camera down for a moment, go to her, hug her and give her a kiss on her soft cheeks.

If I had known that one day these simple moments would become memories, I would have taken many more photographs.

Today, whenever I wear a new dress and think about taking a picture, my mind goes back to my mom.

And for a moment, I am no longer just taking a picture of myself.

I am remembering the woman who loved photographs, loved keeping them safe, and happily posed for me every time I asked.

I have hundreds of photographs of my mom.

But today, I wish I could photograph her one more time.