"She snuggled right into me and after a few minutes was calm and that's where we stayed for at least 15 minutes before my eldest son Taj came in with my phone to tell me I had received a message," Kelli recalled.[rsnippet id="3"] Little Taj, who often asks his photographer mommy if he can "have a go" at taking photos, pulled up the camera icon on Kelli's phone, and snapped some pictures of his mom and sis. It wasn't until later, after Kelli had gotten Summer to finally doze off on her chest as the two lay on the couch, that she thought to take a look at the photos her son had taken. One image in particular jumped out to the weary, emotionally drained mom. The 5-year-old's photo completely stunned her by what he'd managed to capture:
"A moment of pure exhaustion but an incredible bond of unconditional love between a mother and child," Kelli said.RELATED: Why this mom crawled into the crib with her baby wrecked me! And so, "The Barefoot Mum" as she is called on her Facebook page, decided to share the striking moment. And what she wrote is such a remarkable illustration of motherhood.
"I was debating whether or not to post this, but this is real, raw, and one of the absolute worst parts of Motherhood that at some stage, we will all go through!! The part nothing or no-one can prepare you for, the part where you would give every ounce of your entire being to make your poor baby feel ok again. Every cry and every tear makes your heart break just that little bit more and your only wish is that it was you instead. I haven't slept in days and am physically & mentally exhausted myself, but as all Mums do, we keep going! This morning as Summer was coughing, being sick and working herself up into a frenzy, my Mumma instincts kicked in and I put us both in the shower, with the soothing sound of running water and the warmth touching our skin, she was calm within minutes......then, my 5 year old came in and snapped this!! Such a raw emotive moment of Motherhood in all her glory......messy bun and all!!"[rsnippet id="2"] These words came straight from Kelli's heart, and though she was at first hesitant to share such an intimate moment, she ultimately decided to do so in the hopes that it may inspire and comfort another parent having a tough day. And it's that powerful, unconditional love that has caused her post to go viral.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:7-11