Not far from me in Atlantic City, the DO AC Sand Sculpting World Cup for 2014 is being held. With everything from a fantastically intricate snail to Frozen’s Elsa, Anna, and Olaf posing together in front of trees of sand, I’ve never seen anything quite like these amazing displays of artwork. One sand sculpture in particular made me happy and proud to my core, though. The “Timeless Story” by Russian sculptors Pavel Mylnikov and Aleksei Diakov was the image of a mother breastfeeding her child as he or she looked out with curious eyes, as most children often do. Mother and Babe are sheathed by the wings of an angel, what I see as not only protecting their physical selves but also this bond and love that they share and will shape and change as they grow together.

As I stood nursing my son in front of this wonderful sculpture, I felt shielded by this angel’s wings too. Watching so many people adore this stunning sand masterpiece, it seemed as though breastfeeding was finally beautiful instead of taboo. People didn’t whisper about why Sand Momma wasn’t covered up or she didn’t just pump a bottle of sand before she left the house, instead they admired the beauty. This same beauty displayed by “Timeless Story” is the beauty I see every day when I nurse my precious babies.

Day in and day out, I feel anxiety when I nurse in public. I’ve never successfully been able to pump and give my children bottles and because they’re as curious about their surroundings as Sand Baby, they become furious if I try to cover them up! This leaves me to nurse modestly as I can in public. Could I remove myself from an area? Sure, but that makes things so complicated between trying to get things accomplished and lugging my other three along with me. If nursing was seen through the same eyes we used to marvel at this sandy artwork, I feel that nothing but better things would come of it.

For the first time ever as I walked around these beach works of art nursing my son, instead of that usual feeling of anxiety tinged with shame, I felt a sense of pride, love, and beauty. I felt like other people could finally see breastfeeding the way I saw it, the loving moment I nourished my snuggly little bean while the big, bold world kept bustling around us not asking us to tuck ourselves away.