Impressions

I have been watching a TV show called "This is Us" about a middle class family and their dramas.  That's maybe an oversimplification, but that's not what I am writing about here.

What prompted me to write is this:   one of the characters on the show has just had a baby.  That's sort of what I am writing about.

The new mom is not wearing any make up.  She has freckles.  No eye make up.  Her eyes look tired.   She looks so sweet and innocent.

Many times I have seen new moms who I had met before they gave birth.  They had their "face" on.  Even if just a little mascara, they were done up. 

Often, usually, when I see a new mom with her new baby I see a completely different person.  They don't have make up.  They often look tired.  Their hair is not "done", it might now even have been washed or brushed for a few days.  And yet, there is a sweetness there.   A naked face.  A true mom face. 

New moms, often at their worse, are beautiful.    Their guard is down.  They have set their armor down and are reaching to another mother (me) either for help, reassurance, ir just to say "welcome into my sacred space".   

I don't have any photographs of these new moms.  If I did, I don't think that the feelings and beauty would be captured anyway.  The photo would just be an image of a tired woman.

That fleeting moment of vulnerability and grace, and fierce love and protection of the newborn.   That cannot be captured except in the moment.  In the flesh.  In being there.  In reality.