The Gift Of Moms
I’m not a mom of human children. It’s not for lack of trying; human babies from my loins were not in the cards for me. All of my babies have fur and can be left unattended with food mountains, which is exactly how I like it. However, Mother’s Day has always been important to me. It’s a way to remind all of those amazing motherly figures in your life how important they are. One year my youngest brother forgot Mother’s Day. My mom has never gotten over it.
I am lucky to have been raised by two amazing women, my mom and my maternal grandma. My mom is one of the most supportive and loving women I know. She has been a non-stop cheerleader for every crazy idea I have had and she opens her heart and home to any stray, human or animal, who needs help. My grandma is a force of nature. She single-handedly crochets hundreds of hats, mittens, and slippers for the Santa Claus Girls every year. She is extremely capable and always has an opinion. You may have had the good fortune of meeting these two fierce women when attending a #squadbettie event, but only the daytime ones--grandma doesn’t drive at night. You can tell who they are by picturing me at 55 and 75.
My mom and grandma are what I call “chronic hide behinders”. Anytime a photo is taken, they rush to position themselves to be as covered up as possible, if they allow photos to be taken of them at all. Family photos between 1994 and now are scarce. The exceptions are the one, K-mart photoshoot my siblings and I did with grandma in the late 90s and my wedding in 2010. My siblings and I have been trying to remedy this. We have been enforcing the “forced family Christmas photo” every year. The lack of photos of my mom and grandma were never more apparent than the year my grandpa passed. As we pulled out albums to build the memory boards, we struggled to find photos--photos of my mom and her dad, my grandma and her husband, and our whole family together. Rummaging through 50+ years of photos I noticed that there weren’t really any photos of my mom and grandma together. When my grandparents were first married, they couldn’t afford to pick up the photos after they were developed. Decades of photos have been lost to time.
Last year my youngest brother, you know, the one who forgot Mother’s Day, gifted my mom and grandma a Mod Bettie photo experience. They had no idea what they were in for. Neither did Elise. HA! The wardrobe consultation was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. My grandma fell in love with a gold-sequined dress that she refused to take off for hair and makeup, so she wore her shirt over it. My mom was just lovely in red sequins. It was hard not to tear up as Izzy did their makeup. My mom and grandma are beautiful without makeup, but they were show-stopping that day. (It's good to know I’m going to age really well!) They had so much fun spending the day together and I even jumped in for a few photos.
Having the ability to give them not only an experience, but photos they felt beautiful in, was so important. Your children, grandchildren, partner, siblings, mother, grandmother, friends and family see you in a way you never see yourself. They see the twinkle in your eye when your (grand)children smile at you. They see the joy in your face when you gush about something you’re passionate about. They see the love you exude when you look at them.
YOU deserve to exist in photos. And I don’t mean when you lose 15lbs. Now. Don’t waste time hiding behind someone else. Your loved ones want to see you--not your head floating behind Aunt Amy. We have two amazing Mother’s Day opportunities…start (or continue!) existing.
So this year I challenge you to #EXISTINPHOTOS.
Looking to spend some time with your special gal(s) this Mother’s Day?
(Or choose a session all about YOU!)
Written by: Nicholette Driggs, Bettie Extraordinaire
Nicholette is a Family Life Educator with a background in early childhood and family studies from WMU, Nicholette’s driven by empowering women and body positivity. Her personal journey began with Mod B in 2015 when she answered a model call and was thrust directly into the path of becoming a pin-up model. She has been published internationally, placed in numerous pin-up contests and currently models for various clothing companies and fashion shows. Nicholette is also a performer, slingin’ glitter and singing pretty! She is also an educator and public speaker.
Her love for modern pin-up and vintage style is for its ability to embrace women of all ages, sizes, abilities, ethnicities and styles. Nicholette wants to help encourage all women to love and embrace themselves, exactly as they are.
Email her at events@modbettie.com