Beautiful

Our daughter, Maria Morning, is a special little girl. She is sassy and sweet and has made incredible strides since she came home to us a year ago. We are so proud of her. 

When you meet her, however, her special needs are immediately evident. She is mainly non-verbal but talks repetitiously about whatever she's interested in, and exhibits many stimming behaviors due to Autism. Taking her picture requires many shots, because it's rare to capture what most people expect to see in a photo: a smile.

She so often seems unaware of her body movements or facial expressions, it is evident in her photos that she has special needs. As her mom, my tendency has been to post pictures where she looks the most "normal," but when I recognized this, I stopped to think.

By our society's definition of beauty, the only acceptable photos of her were the "normal ones." Yet, the pictures I capture of her looking the most like herself look the least “normal.” Why haven't I posted more of those beautiful pictures of my daughter? I was using society's guidelines to define what went into my Instagram feed and family photo albums. But those who know and love Maria, know and love her goofy expressions.

Those awkward pictures are just as beautiful, because they capture Maria in her most natural state. Can we rally those in the special needs community to also proudly post pictures of their children being their most unique and beautiful selves?

I repent of only showcasing pictures where Maria looked like everyone else. Why should I embrace such a narrow view of "normal?" Why shouldn't we all broaden our definition not only of what's normal, but our definition of what's beautiful? Seeing both of the pictures of Maria above, makes my heart soar because her beauty shines equally in each of them.