"Mum, can I take your photo? You look so pretty sitting there".

I didn't feel pretty. I had been awake since 4 am to arrive at the airport. We flew to Cairns and then drove to Port Douglas. We had been travelling for 7 hours and arrived at our home for the next two weeks. I felt rough around the edges. But my sweet daughter didn't see this. She saw her Mum and took this beautiful portrait of me.

I think we forget that our children don't see our wrinkles. They don't see the extra weight we carry. They don't look at us with the same critical eye that we do. They look at us with love and admiration. They look at us, and images of us, and they see their Mum...the most important person in their story.

That is why I tell you that you don't need to lose weight. You are beautiful just they way you are, and if you wait to lose a few extra kilos before you allow someone to take a photo of you, well life will pass you by. We are not perfect. We are not models. But we are women and mothers. It is so important to be in the story. Don't wait! Let them take your photo. Let your caring photographer (ME!) take your photo.