November 14, 2016

My Mother’s Hands | Portraits of Work

For years, my mom has asked me to take portraits of her hands.  She is a chiropractor and makes her living from her hands.  She is proud of her worker’s hands.  They are strong, thick. They remind her of the rough, German-blooded hands of my grandpa, who worked as a farmer since well before the Great Depression.  She made sure she had her hands bent so I could photograph the wrinkles because “they are her favorite part.”  As she says, she likes that her hands are not dainty and show a lifetime of work.  
Today, my mother is having surgery to remove a tumor in the covering of her brain.  We expect wonderful results, as her case has been described as “textbook” but the air is filled with our nerves anyway.  The tumor was discovered several weeks ago from an MRI after months of an unexplained visual disturbance.  The tumor, which is the size of a raquetball, is noncancerous and has likely been slowly growing for decades.  I’m so thankful my mom kept pursuing answers until the cause of her blind spots was found.  
So today, I’m taking a moment to thank my mom for her hardworking hands.  She raised me and my two sisters with those hands.  Built a chiropractic office known throughout the country for it’s quality of care.  I’ve seen her hands complete miracles, literally saving the lives of her patients.  So today, as she steps out of her comfort zone and is the patient for once, beginning a 6 week recovery, I want to honor the hard work that my mother’s hands have instilled with me.  I will cherish every wrinkle as it appears on my hand.  I will take pride in the fact that I have the thick, German fingers of my grandfather.  We have the hands of work. 
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This is beautiful Barb. Beautiful thoughts and pictures. A lovely tribute to your mom.

This project puts a smile in my heart! I’ve always been fascinated by hands. They all have such wonderful individual stories to tell.

Omg tears!!! What a beautiful person to look up to in your life and thank goodness the tumor is noncancerous! Sending you lots of genuine prayers so that you can continue to be a strong support for her and prayers for her healing from surgery

I agree with Michelle – beautiful thoughts and pictures. And I love that your mom likes the wrinkles 🙂 I hope the surgery went well and she continues to do amazing things with those beautiful, strong hands.

Oh wow, these made me emotional! I want to do this with my mom now, and I really wish I had done this with so many people who have already passed on. I hope your mom’s surgery goes well.

This is beautiful Barb. Beautiful thoughts and pictures. A lovely tribute to your mom.

This project puts a smile in my heart! I’ve always been fascinated by hands. They all have such wonderful individual stories to tell.

Omg tears!!! What a beautiful person to look up to in your life and thank goodness the tumor is noncancerous! Sending you lots of genuine prayers so that you can continue to be a strong support for her and prayers for her healing from surgery

I agree with Michelle – beautiful thoughts and pictures. And I love that your mom likes the wrinkles 🙂 I hope the surgery went well and she continues to do amazing things with those beautiful, strong hands.

Oh wow, these made me emotional! I want to do this with my mom now, and I really wish I had done this with so many people who have already passed on. I hope your mom’s surgery goes well.

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