I’ve always been more comfortable behind the camera rather than in front of it. I’m often guilty of criticizing photos of myself or deleting them from my camera if I feel that I don’t look my best. This really wasn’t something I thought too much about before I had my son but I now look through the hundreds of pictures I have of him and I can see that there are only a handful of pictures of us together. While growing up, my mom always stressed the importance of inner beauty and that a positive attitude shines through for others to see. She was always encouraging me to be beautiful in ways that would make me feel better about myself such as helping others, having a positive outlook on life, caring for others and laughing…a lot of laughing!
I remember taking my mom with me to pick up my wedding dress the day before we were leaving for my wedding in Las Vegas. While visiting the seamstress, I had a moment that every bride fears…the dress didn’t fit. I hadn’t gained any weight since the last fitting but the back of the dress was too tight. I could zipper it up but it wasn’t flattering. I was so upset! There wasn’t time to make any more alterations as we had other errands to run and a flight to catch in the early morning. My mom kept telling me how beautiful I looked and that she couldn’t notice that anything was wrong with the fit of the dress. To try to calm me down, she agreed to race over to a bridal shop and buy a veil that would hopefully help cover the imperfections that it seemed only I was noticing.
My mom always tells me “Don’t worry about the what-ifs” so on the day of my wedding I pushed the “What if the dress doesn’t fit?” worries out of my mind. On the morning of the wedding, my mom and I enjoyed some time together at the spa, we had our hair and makeup done and we shared funny memories. I didn’t once worry about my dress. When it came time to get dressed for the wedding, my dress fit perfectly! If I had spent all morning continuing to worry about the dress, I would have missed a fun morning with my mom.
For the month of March, I’ve changed the photo on my About page to a photo of myself with a person who encourages me to be beautiful – my mom.
The Dove Mission is to invite all women to realize their potential for beauty by engaging them with products that deliver Superior Care. Dove believes that beauty should be for everyone because looking and feeling your best makes you feel happier. For more information visit www.dove.ca
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Unilever Canada via Glam Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Unilever Canada.