Back to School

Ah, that first day of school. Ted and I would pick out that perfect outfit (less important for him than me, surely) and pose for the photo. There was always a photo.

"Oh, gee Dad. Come on, hurry up! We're looking into the sun. We're going to miss the bus. Take it tomorrow. Take it later. Come on, come on, come on..." until eventually, he would release us to start our day.

Would I be a good parent if I didn't subject my kids to exactly the same yearly initiation? To be honest, I think they still love the first day pictures. They are hams--they have their picture taken so often, they know what I'm going to say before I say it. They get together (get closer--you love each other!) and show me the best toothless grins imaginable. And I, of course, snap away.

That's where the photos of my youth differ. When Dad was paying for film and developing on every picture, we usually only got one chance to look awesome. And so we didn't. Our eyes were closed, our hair was sticking up, our pants were unzipped. In a way though, it was better because he truly captured the moment. My kids are going to think they looked perfect all the time. "Gosh Mom, what was wrong with you?"