Day 1: When You Realized You Weren’t in the Picture

Not because you didn’t belong—but because it felt safer to disappear

Welcome to Day 1 of Coming Home to Your Body.

Each day, we’ll meet one part of your story with gentleness—not to fix you, but to remind you that you’ve always belonged. Today, we begin where many of us learned to hide: behind the camera, out of the frame, and away from our memories.

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

The day you slipped out of the frame

I still remember the first time I chose the camera over the moment.

It was a sticky July afternoon in our backyard—paper crowns on heads, popsicle drips down tiny chins, bubbles floating lazily in the heat. Someone said, “Let’s take a picture!” and my stomach dropped.

I forced a fake laugh, grabbed the phone, and said, “I’ll take it!”

Click. Click. Click.

Everyone in the frame.

Everyone but me.

I told myself I was being helpful.
That I wanted candids instead.
That I didn’t need to be in the shot.

But under the smile was a quieter truth I didn’t want to name: being seen felt too risky. It felt safer to step back. Safer to document than to participate.

Maybe your moment looked different.
Maybe it was a beach day where you stayed in your cover-up.
Maybe it was a family photoshoot you kept rescheduling.
Maybe it was the quiet ritual of cropping yourself out before anyone else could.

Shame doesn’t shout. It whispers.
“Just hold the camera.”
“Stand behind.”
“Maybe next time.”

If you’ve been missing from the story of your own life, friend, you’re not broken. You adapted. A protective part of you decided it was safer not to be seen. That wasn’t failure—that was survival.

But what if there’s another way now?

This week, we’re not forcing transformation. We’re not shaming the parts that kept us safe. We’re simply trying one small step back into the frame—so our children have memories with us in them, not without.

If that stirs resistance, you’re not alone. If it stirs hope, you’re ready.

👉 Paid subscribers receive today’s gentle practice, journaling prompts, a printable reflection page, and access to our private circle with other moms who understand—where we can practice this together.