Yasmin ~ My body... Uncomfortable, happy.
I love my eyes, my back.
Being a mum has had a big effect on my body... my breasts have changed and under my eyes.
I'd love to be able to embrace my body and see it in a new way... it would be lovely.
I often saw my mum's body when I was growing up. I think she's beautiful. She has a beautiful body.
Caroline ~ My body... Older, useful, comforting, sexy,
My daughter and I hug every day, I watched her give birth to both her babies... I see her most days and give support on a practical level, which will mean giving her girls a cuddle or a carry. I play with them and massage their legs when they are achey. I hold her when she cries and we hold each other when we laugh from our belly’s.
I never really had any female figures in my life to teach me how to appreciate my beauty as a woman. I was very unaware and awkward as a teenager, I never realised I needed a bra until a girl at school told me I should wear one. I was surrounded by my cousins by the age of 15 who were all gorgeous and I felt even worse about my body. As I grew older all I ever really wanted was to be a mum. And so when, at 23, it finally happened I started to feel in awe of my body. Look what it had done for me! Look what it was able to create!
Raising them just filled my heart with joy, every day. But when your kids grow up and leave home, no-one really talks about that part of motherhood. I wasn't prepared for that. I found that I couldn't really function without that role... I was lost for a while. It's been a process and I'm getting there. I am so fortunate to have beautiful grandchildren and that my kids are close and want me to be part of their lives.
No-one really talks about that part of motherhood. I wasn't prepared for that.
I am now finding balance, as a woman, mother and grandmother.
I feel that my body is a wonderful vessel that has given me so much.
I am so grateful to Caroline and Yasmine for being so open and sharing their hearts with me. Working with them gave me the most beautiful insight into a layer and dynamic of motherhood that interests me so much and seems so far away while we are in the throws of parenting young children.