To My Precious Black Son
Aug 12, 2020
4 minutes
Shanay Bell
To My Precious Black Son, The purity and joy in this photo take my breath away.
As your mother, I was consumed by breast milk, baby milestones, day care bills, and sleep training. Somehow the whirlwind of mothering had obscured your #blackboyjoy, until I saw this photo.
I remember how frayed I felt the day it was taken. My friend Nicole, an amazing photographer, asked to take your picture. In that moment I didn’t do the typical maternal thing like change your drool-soaked shirt. I was too fried to notice. So Nicole just snapped, snapped, and snapped.
The result—your Affohalo, twinkling eyes, and emerging teeth—
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