The picture of motherhood

I enjoy the artistry of a good photograph, especially photojournalism. So I frequently look at the "Week in Pictures" on MSNBC, as it captures what is going on in the world, with artistry and frequently with emotion. Usually they give warning if a photo is disturbing. Apparently they categorize "disturbing" as meaning "bloody" as there was no warning for this picture today.

I wasn't sure what I was seeing. It was a bunch of people covered in orange dust, in a circle around more orange dust. I read the caption: "Rescuers find the bodies of a mother and child killed when an earthquake struck China's Sichuan province on Sunday, August 31, causing their home to collapse." And then I saw in the orange, a smaller and larger head, a large body covering a small one, the mother's arm and body protectively wrapped around the toddler, their legs still buried in dust. I cried and moved on to the next picture, thinking no pregnant mother, no mother, should have to see this without warning. I was surprised after putting in my own vote that this picture was in first place.

I had just let the picture back into my mind this evening, on the couch reading, my kids in bed, when my house creaked. Creaked again. Shook a few inches. As it kept rattling, I didn't get into a doorway. I didn't run outside or under my table. I did run to my kids' room. I don't know exactly what I was going to do, and the house stopped moving as I walked through their door, so I didn't get to find out. I didn't think at all, I only acted on instinct. The instinct to protect my children, even impossibly.

That was the draw of the picture. Mothers and fathers - current, future, or unmanifest - saw past the tragedy depicted and saw the universal love and protection we all know deep inside our hearts.

I came to the computer to look up the earthquake - only a 4.0, but close-by. Then I revisited the picture. I cried again but this time the tragedy was not the only cause of my tears - the beauty of motherly love and thankfulness for all my blessings were also wetting my cheeks.