Theme Thursday: Mom

I know, I just did a "Theme Thursday" post two days ago; but I was really LATE for that one, and I'm right on time today!  So I'm linking up with Cari and the gang over at Clan Donaldson for this week's picture sharing party.  The theme?  MOM!  How perfect, with Mother's Day just around the corner.

I absolutely love vintage photographs--black and white head shots from the 40's and 50's especially.  They have a glamour about them that seems to be missing from our modern color photographs.  Whenever I look at pictures of my parents and my mother- and father-in-law from that time period, I think, "Did everyone look like a movie star back then?"

As a for instance, here is a gorgeous picture of my mother when she was no more than 20.

Of course, she was a beautiful woman to begin with, so it wasn't just the professional magic of a 50's portrait studio that made her look so movie star-esque (I mean, check out those cheekbones!).  But isn't she something?

Most of the pictures of my mother from her youth are in black and white, but here's a rare color snapshot.  She was a fresh-faced twenty-something here, a busy young mom without a speck of make-up on her extraordinary face.  This is my father's favorite picture of her.

My mother got married at 20 and had five children by the age of 27.  Here she is, looking like a Hollywood starlet, surrounded by her brood.

We must have been a handful, but she was still smiling, still looking as glamorous as ever.

With her high, sculpted cheekbones, sparkling brown eyes, and mega-watt smile, I think my mother could have been a movie star--or a model.  But she wanted to be a mom, and I'm so glad she did.

For more photography celebrating moms, head on over to Cari's.