In defense of selfies

    I have a confession..... I take selfies and not just one or two but more than I should admit. And to the horror of my teenage children, I post them on Facebook and Instagram.   But truly I think selfies are getting a bad rap and I would like to throw out a bit of perspective.   
    I am a mom  to 5 wonderful people between the ages of 13 and 33. I spent their baby and younger years asking them to "Look at Mom" so I could capture moments with my little cameras.  I would then throw the film rolls in a drawer/take the rolls to be developed and when the envelope of new pictures came home, I was nowhere to be seen.  All those photos of my children as they rambled through life. But.....rarely are there pictures of me with my kids or family.  Or me at all  because as the mom, I was the taker of the pictures.  And this is how it was until the smart phone with a reversible camera came into existence and the selfie was born.
    I admit that I like documenting not only the life and events of people I love, but, I like documenting the fact that I am here too.   
   Decades slipped by and I have little photographic evidence that I was around but thanks to smart phones, social media and selfies. that has changed and I'm not sorry.  It's okay to be the one who take the picture that says "I am here... this is me"....A selfie allows us to do just that.  So celebrate your good hair days, share your new shirt you love and capture yourself doing what you love with who you love. And if by chance it embarrasses your kids just a little bit....even better. 

<3 Barbara

p.s. if you want to follow my Instagram and see my world and work I am at @Thewildflower57