Be In The Photos

I am not photogenic. I have spent years dodging people with cameras. And while I love to take pictures, I hate to be in them. I am extremely critical of my appearance. I am a horrible combination of lazy and insecure. I spend most of my time in jeans and t-shirts with a messy bun and no make-up. I just feel that there are many more important things to worry with than my appearance.

When my oldest son was three years old, I took him to go see Christmas lights and take a train ride to the North Pole to see Santa. We had an amazing night, and when it came time for his picture with Santa, I had an epiphany. Up until that point, I could count on one hand the number of times I had posed for a picture with him. In that moment I realized that if something happened to me, that would be it. There would be almost no photos of us. He was too young to have any memory of me. So while he was my whole world, there was no evidence of that. What if he had nothing to remember me by?

At that moment I made a choice to do things differently. I decided not to think of myself, but to think of him. I sat down on Santa's lap beside him and we had our picture taken together.

Since then I have gone out of my way to make sure that I am in those pictures no matter how bad I think I look. It's important. I am reminded of this now as that son, now eight years old, goes to spend Spring Break with my mom. She hates to have her picture taken just as much as I do, but I need to make a point of reminding her that they aren't just photos, but memories, and they are important.

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