How Pretty I Was I Never Knew

I thought I was a beautiful baby sure, but did I think I was picture-perfect beautiful? No, I did not. Did I think I was so pretty that my picture could be in a magazine, or I could have my picture painted by a famous artist? Of course, not. I am even surprised to say that I had a random photographer come up to me and my mother and ask to take my picture and for him to compliment her on what a beautiful baby I was. I would even be surprised that somebody would just compliment me the way that this man did. I bet that made my mom feel good and proud.

I did not know about this picture until I was older. I had seen this picture many times of course, but I had never known the story behind the picture. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I never knew the words behind this picture.

In 1983, I was 1 year old, depending on the month it was, I may have been only a matter of months old. My mother and I went to a graduation for our cousin, after the graduation when there was a celebration, there was this man there who was a photographer, and he took a picture from far away and then he came up to my mother and he said to her,

"Ma'am your baby girl is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, would it be okay if I take her picture. I would actually love to get a picture of how you are with her, the two of you together, just as you are right now."

So, my mom said it was okay to take my picture, really to take our picture. We did not pose, we just carried on naturally, and when the man finally took the picture, it was a natural, beautiful moment between my mother and me.

When I found this picture, I just happened to flip over on the back of the photo, because my mom always wrote things on the back of photos. On the back it said where, the year,1983 and that the man had thought I was so beautiful that he came up to ask my mom for my picture. That made me inquire about the photo because I had never heard that story before.

When I asked my mom about it, she was all too happy and proud to tell me the story behind it. Years later, I still wonder where that picture is. If it is still hanging up in a gallery somewhere, is it still in somebody's photo studio somewhere? Is that guy still alive? I do not even know what state this happened in, but I think it would be interesting someday for me to be able to see my picture in some gallery or at some studio and have the last piece of that puzzle.

I have never thought I was beautiful, so, if he had still been alive which, I doubt that he is, I think I would want to ask him what it was about me that drew him over to us. One thing is for sure, I never knew how beautiful I was. Not until I looked at the back of that picture and read what it said, and I asked my mom about it. Now, I know that somebody thought I was beautiful. And now when someone tells me how beautiful I am, I take a minute and say thank you, and now, I do believe it is true.