Another way to show your love.
These are two of my favorite family photos. They capture the love / hate relationship many of us have with the camera.
In the first one, we had the camera set up on a tripod in the front yard trying to capture a Christmas letter photo. While Shelley was fidgeting with the camera trying to get the perfect shot, I schemed with the kids and I think the result is pretty epic. Hilarity at its finest. Shelley was unamused. Apparently, I play too much. She was even less impressed when I found that frame and gave it to her for Christmas that year.
The second picture of me yawning was captured by my brother in law John (John Faircloth Photography). It’s my phone Home Screen photo. I wasn’t bored. It was almost dark out. Clearly time for bed.
Family photos are tough. When the kids are little, it’s like herding cats. I am convinced it is physically impossible to have two kids under 5 in the same picture looking at the camera with both eyes open and smiling all at the same time.
When they are older, it’s not much better. They are too cool for the coordinating outfits and fun poses. Apparently, for a teen, taking family photos sucks out their soul and they’d just as soon retrieve their phone out of a truck stop toilet.
Who am I kidding, I don’t love them either. Truth is I don’t really like to have my picture taken. If it were up to me, if my family ever went missing, we’d probably have to rely on memory and a sketch artist for the milk jug photo. (Do they even do that anymore or am I just old?)
I don’t get my wife’s passion for such photos. Seems like a lot of work to me and we had pictures taken just a while ago. Oh wait, that was two years ago? Well, we haven’t changed that much since then have we?
But she persists. And despite her best efforts, most times, we are uncooperative and irritable. I dare say most of our family pictures were not an accurate depiction because they did not capture the irritation bubbling just beneath the faked smiles.
Men and kids, could I offer a piece of unsolicited advice? Take the picture. Get dressed up, fix your hair, shave, brush your teeth and pretend you are ready for the red carpet. Be interested and cooperative. Have fun. Pose a hundred different ways. Say yes ma’am when she says “Let’s do one more over there.”
Why? Because it feeds her soul to capture her family in a picture. Because it lets her show off what she works so hard to care for. Because getting dressed up and smiling never killed anybody. Because she doesn’t ask for much. Because it is a simple way to communicate love and appreciation. Because it is apparently the 6th love language. Because you have no idea how valuable they will become to you. Because with all the chaos she manages, doesn’t she deserve one snapshot of peace?
Just take the picture.
In my house are probably 40 scrapbooks documenting Kaylee and Caleb’s childhood. Each page is painstakingly crafted with love. Those books represent thousands of hours of work and untold expressions of love. You can literally watch them both grow up on the pages of those books. What a treasure! I wouldn’t trade them for a big shop and tractor.
Take the picture. Just take the picture.
Your fellow sojourner,
Carl
Snapshots For The Soul 