Yesterday we took the boys to get their pictures taken. Despite excessive drool from little man and attitude from the redhead, we finally made it through the photo shoot. Then came the difficult task of choosing the pictures to purchase. As we browsed through the shots, we came across two pictures of our oldest son. One was an excellent picture of him smiling nicely…the second was a picture of him looking to the side instead of at the camera, smiling a sly grin, and looking as rotten as can be. My husband said, “That looks like him. That’s got his personality written all over it.”  I chose the picture of him looking appropriately sweet and well-behaved. That decision has been on my mind ever since. 

Thinking back to my school days, we may have all worn t-shirts and jeans every day, but on “picture day” everyone looked their best. I can remember my mom curling my hair and deliberating over what I should wear for my picture. Instead of the yearbook depicting what we were really like, it showed rows of kids looking uncomfortable in our clothing, placed in awkward poses with fake smiles and fancy hairdos. 

Even now, I am hesitant to have my picture taken unless I have advanced notice. Maybe I want to look back and think that a “good hair day” was the norm for me. Maybe I want to pretend like I never had “baby weight” to lose. Maybe I am afraid of being remembered for who I really am, rather than who I want to be.

Let’s make memories of the everyday…because the everyday is good enough for every other day…why not for picture day as well?