Mom's viral plea to dads: 'Take more pictures of mom with the kids'
A mother’s touching request for fathers to take more photos of moms with their kids has resonated with parents worldwide.
Cyndy Gatewood’s Facebook post, titled “Dear dads, take the picture,” has been shared more than 270,000 times and has generated more than 80,000 comments since it was published on June 5.
“Dear dads, I know you’re holding your phone right now. You probably always have your phone in your hand or at least in your pocket — we all do. Do her a favour and take more pictures,” Gatewood begins, noting that pictures don’t include screenshots of a funny meme you just saw on Twitter.
“I’m talking about pictures of her. The mother of your children. The love of your life. The one who works so hard with you to hold it all together for your precious family. Take more pictures of her.”
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Gatewood said she looked through her phone and realized she had tons of pictures of her husband playing with the kids, but few of her with the kids.
“And it’s totally my fault,” she admitted. “I’m either always behind the camera, or never want him take a candid picture of me. I always feel like I have to have on makeup or have a good angle because I have a social media mentality. I always assume it will be posted and everyone will see it.”
But it doesn’t have to be that way, she said, noting how she loves the pictures of just her children, and she’s thankful for the pictures she has of my kids and her husband — but says it’s important for both parents to be in pictures with them.
“Dads, if you have a wife like me, one night when she’s laying in bed reading a story to your daughter, whip out your phone and take a picture,” Gatewood advised. “Without warning. Without posing. Just take the picture.”
“When she’s in the kitchen talking to your son about his day, take the picture. If she’s rolling around on the floor with the kids or helping one with their homework, take the picture.”
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Gatewood said that children grow up fast and before you know it, they’ll be packing up their cars and moving off to college.
“Take the picture,” she reiterated. “One day she’ll be gone and all the kids have left of her are memories.”
“Take the pictures to show them the love she had for them. Take the pictures so they can always remember how silly she was. Take the pictures so they can see how beautiful she was. It doesn’t matter if she’s in her pyjamas and on day 4 of dry shampoo, please, take the picture.”
Gatewood’s plea is motivated by the fact her mom passed away when she was 20 years old — all she has are pictures.
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“I stare at the pictures of her holding me in her lap laughing at something cute I must have said. I zoom in on pictures of her hands to see if I have the same ones as I’ve gotten older.”
“You can’t capture things like that in a selfie,” she reminded fathers. “Please, take the picture.”
“I know you don’t always think about it, but when you do, don’t worry about anything else and just take the picture. Your kids (and your wife) will be so grateful in the end.”
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