[easy-image-collage id=6413]
A friend and I were at an event at Hiller Aviation Museum last summer and spent the morning taking adorable photos of our kids in the cockpit of planes, high-fiving firemen, and posing on a police motorcycle. We were about to walk out the door when she asked if I wanted to be in a photo with my son. Of course, I said YES enthusiastically! We joked as we left that we had to have Proof of Mom from the event since we are never in the photos. Especially as stay at home moms, we are there for every school party, birthday party, park date, etc, and we are never in the photos.
I have spent the past year with her words echoing in my head every time we do something fun. I’ve stopped feeling weird about asking strangers to take a photo of me and my kids and started offering other moms (and dads) if they want me to take their picture with their kids. Recently, we went to Disneyland, and I saw this dad struggling to take a selfie with his whole family (four kids and wife). When I first offered to take their photo, he took such a long pause, I thought they might not speak English. Turns out he was just surprised!
As summer vacation approaches, I know I will be doing a lot more outings with my kids, beyond our big family vacation, and I am trying to remember to put myself in the picture, even if that means the dreaded selfie. So much of the time, as moms, we are so judgmental of our own looks in photos. Often, I’ll be hunched over or caught mid-chat and think that it’s not my best look, but I have to remember my kids don’t care that I’m in workout clothes (again) or that my white jeans got dirty 30 seconds after I put them on, so I should be easier on myself too. After all, it is real life. We have to remember, family photos have not always had Instagram filters applied or dozens of photos taken per day to capture literally every moment. It’s ok to be remembered as less than perfect.
It is still one of my favorite things to see old photos of my parents and grandparents, especially with me as a child. I hope my kids will look back and enjoy seeing our smiley (and not so smiley) photos together on our adventures.
[easy-image-collage id=6414]
