Today is my mother’s birthday. I won’t tell you how old she is, but it doesn’t really matter anyways. In wisdom and experience she’s 448, and in wit and physical energy she’s closer to 25. She’s here to help me get married this weekend, and I couldn’t be more thankful to have her by my side.

There’s a photograph of my mother, circa 1975, from a trip to Canada that I’ve always loved. I found it probably back in junior high, hidden away in a box of old photos. She’s wearing a burnt-orange wool coat, her parted brown hair and knitted scarf blowing in the wind. Her eyes are hidden behind large, stylish sunglasses and she’s smiling broadly, looking playfully away from the camera. Her hands are clasped haphazardly, cozy in brightly-patterned gloves. In this photo, she’s a newlywed herself, traveling North America without a care in the world.

For years I kept this photo to myself, tucked away in use as a bookmark. Once in a while it would catch my eye, and I’d search its contents for clues as to who this woman was, before she was my mother. Was she funny? Creative? A question-asker? Was she bold and brilliant? Was she afraid? Did she know what her life would become? Was she proud of who she was?

One of my favorite social media accounts is on the photo-sharing platform Instagram, called Mothers Before. You can find it on a desktop at instagram.com/mothersbefore or on the Instagram app @mothersbefore.

I was tickled when I discovered this account a couple years ago, and I delightfully scrolled through its posts, reading about women from all kinds of backgrounds, nationalities and fields. Each post shares a photo taken of a woman prior to having had children and submitted by a daughter who shares a few thoughts about her pictured mother. Some are funny, others a bit sad, most are quite poignant. I felt so connected to this online sisterhood of sharing about our mothers, wondering who they had been before they were enforcing eating vegetables, finishing homework and making curfew.

Some were immigrants who came bravely to this country and made a way for their first-generation children to have a better life. Some were adventurous outdoorswomen, scaling mountains and working as park rangers before settling down to start families. Others were sweet and carefree, unaware of the hardships life might bring them, like miscarriages, abuse, divorces and financial struggles. Some daughters lament that the years seemed to have changed their mothers, worn them down until there wasn’t much fun and freedom left in their spirits. Others share that their moms remain their strong, kind, intelligent champions and are just as ornery and life-loving as they were 30 years ago. One thing’s for sure — there’s no shortage of big hair, wild fashion and sassy smirks in this collection of photographs that span the 20th century.

After acquainting myself with Mothers Before, I had to submit my beloved photo for consideration. I sent an email as instructed by the account’s manager, along with a bit of information about my mom, and maybe six months later, there she was in my Instagram feed. Though I’ve seen this picture of her a hundred times, seeing it online that day, shared with thousands of others was like seeing it for the first time. Encouragement and kindness rolled in via the comments section, and I was so thankful I’d shared my mom with the world.

Hannah Blick has lived in the Pikes Peak region for six years and enjoys exploring the many neighborhood haunts and side streets of southwest Colorado Springs. Send your feedback and column ideas to hannah.blick@pikespeaknewspapers.com.

A flood of photographs of women, pictured before they started their families, fills the @mothersbefore Instagram account. The author’s mother is pictured on the far right in Ontario, with Detroit in the background.

Screenshot via instagram.com/mothersbefore

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