What Mothering Means to Me Photo Contest

Five Minutes for Mom is sponsoring a photo contest and the winner receives $1,000!

My entry is this photo taken of me and Pumpkindoodle last fall. I love this picture because it was not posed. It started out as a simple pose with PD sitting up straight on my lap and both of us looking outward with plastic smiles. But as the camera snapped, PD began to tickle me and it turned into a beautiful moment. That is what mothering means to me. It is means letting go of perfect poses and expectations of a "just-right" world. It means embracing the spontaneous and basking in the light that shines from the vibrant eyes of a child.