There are tons of pictures of Mamie with babies because from when she was 17 on, she was constantly surrounded by them. Aside from her own seven boys, she constantly hung out with babies with a steady stream emerging from her sisters, friends, other family, and daughters-in-law. Looking through the finite pictures I have of her, many of them are of her hugging or holding babies or infants of varying ages.
What a life, right? After she started her own family she was constantly around infants, but she was that way from when she was born. Her younger siblings began her journey and she never diverged much from that. And what did she always bring forward? Her love. I have written about this before, but Mamie’s legacy (or one of them at least) was teaching people how to love. That was what she gave us. Sure she didn’t love everyone she met, but she did love her family intensely.
It is strange that as I started writing this post I had never thought of her as being constantly surrounded by babies. Not to mention the joy she always took in holding them and lifting and kissing and laughing and dancing with them. Quite a force really, to be able to do that over 70-plus years.
Selfishly I wish I had some pictures of me with her when I was a baby. By the time I came around I think Mamie was mostly behind the camera because there are plenty of pictures of me with my brothers and father and friends, but none (that I have) of me(as a baby) and her. If anyone out there has any, please do share.
Anyways, that is all a long preamble to this wonderful photo of Mamie and Paul in 1959.
