Waiting for Mother {Paris Photo}

Waiting for Mother © 2015 Chant Wagner

A family was walking in a single file. The mother is off the camera. What is attention-getting in this scene is the intensity with which the two little girls are waiting for their mother, especially the eldest...

They seem almost protective of her, as in a reverse role.

When the mother appeared, I felt she was not essential to the story this picture tells. Of course, she nurtured her daughters so she is essential to them in reality, but her absense from the frame is felt in a way more powerfully than if she were there. The mother could have been any shape, form or sizes. This is what unconditional love looks like. What is important is the love which emanates from the little girls. They say "love is in the eye of the beholder", and this to me is a prime example of this saying - only, it is applied to filial love.

The eldest makes me think of a love burning bright and pure.

The fact that both little girls carry or push attributes of future motherhood makes the scene all the more eloquent.

The father is leading the pack although he looks tired.