“Go for it. Expand your horizon.”
This past mother's day, I was fortunate enough to spend it with my mother. After I left California in 2006, it has been rare over the years that we have had the luxury of sharing a city, a space, let alone a picture frame on this day. Last year we did indeed share this day together but in a very different capacity. Last year she was in the midst of chemo treatment for lung cancer. (See photo below). This year it was time to celebrate.
If you've been following this blog, or know me personally, you know how deep my roots span around the world. You know how much I love travel, chasing lineage, and how I cannot help but document the beauty and pain of life. It is clear to me that much of who I am is because of where I've come from. My mother left Finland at 18 to Canada without a clue. She somehow ended up in Long Beach, California, married an Indonesian and had three daughters that people often thought she was babysitting. "No, these are mine," she'd say. People often say that out of the three girls, I resemble her the most. Is it the profile? Cheekbones? I wanted to climb into a photo frame with her and share this very intimate space of our own topography.
I don't know many mothers who would trust such an experience.
"So I need you in a tube top mom," I tell my 69 year old mother.
"Ok," she says without hesitation.
Her trust in my artistic vision means everything. Tube tops included.
The result is a shared intimate experience captured by my camera.
I interview her after about her thoughts on travel. What's her favorite place she's ever been? Her advice? Why does she think travel is important? If anything, you should listen to this if you've never heard a Finnish accent.
Mom is looking beautiful for 69.
Hope that is genetic.