‘Tis the season. No not for the holidays (yes those are
coming too) but for… family pictures. Two words that equally evoke levels of
dread and excitement in most parent. Yet, I continue to sign up. Some people aren’t into them and I get that
but let me tell you why I am.
This holiday season I ALMOST didn’t sign up because I just didn’t want to stress anyone out. Then in a moment of absolute cuteness, I looked at my 18 month old giggling and toddling around in his footie pajamas and it made me realize, each day he grows up, he changes, he gets a little less like the day before and inevitably so do we all. We can’t stop time but we can capture it and that is exactly I what I plan to do.
T minus 2 weeks until
photo session…
You make the announcement that you booked the session to your ever so agreeable husband. You can tell that he isn’t completely on-board but
his innate competitiveness will eventually instill his drive to win an award for
Lead Parent in a Supporting Role.
T minus 8 hours until photo session…
In what seems to be an Olympic sport of making sure all parties
remain photogenic until it’s “go time,” You turn from cool mom into crazy mom.
What I envision to be similar to the monitoring that would happen at Alcatraz; you
are on high alert. Ensuring that no one
gets scratched by the dog, that no sticky foods are served for any meal in an effort
to avoid it getting matted into someone’s hair, and no sibling spatting occurs
that can lead to a bonked head and puffy tear-stained eyes.
T minus 4 hours until you need to be in the car…
Next comes the timing of the crucial and I repeat crucial,
NAP. If this little three letter word
does not happen or happens to fall anywhere near the schedule photo op, you
might as well just stay home. This year you
decided to take pictures after nap, it was a well laid plan so of course it
didn’t work out. Twenty five minutes prior to your pre-estimated time of departure,
all three kids are out. Probably just finishing their nap-version of REM, when
we had to wake them for the “getting ready extravaganza.” Nothing makes children
under 4 happier than being awakened from a deep sleep with their warm blankies
than to be disrobed and have luke-warm water splashed on their heads.
T minus 20 minutes until you need to be in the car…
Then come the clothes, it doesn’t matter if you bought brand
new clothes or planned the color scheme around your child’s favorite clothes,
they won’t want to wear them. Now starts the crucial bartering, “If you just wear
this, I will give you a Skittle.”
You have to start with something little because you know soon they will turn
into the equivalent of the brokers on the floor of the NYSE. You then decide to give them the whole bag of treats
so they are distracted enough to get the clothes on them.
T plus 5 minutes of needing to be in the car…
The shoes…as soon as you get two of the six shoes you need on
their little feet; the one shoe is sure to go missing, one is sure to be in the
dogs mouth being carried away and the original two successful shoes are now off. You
throw the shoes in the car and decide to just figure it out when you get to the
studio.
You are in the car. Now the conversation starts to veer
towards what rewards can be promised if everyone just “smiles and says cheese.”
Ice cream, toys, movies, and candy are the main topics but you always hold out
the one mystery reward that can’t be revealed unless there is no crying.
T minus 1 minute until the first camera click…
You finalize the hair gel, make sure everyone’s nose is
wiped, and that everyone has everything on them that they did when they were
put in the car. Oh and then there is the “smile” word that everyone can get
excited about. Like an episode of Sesame Street, everyone agrees today’s
session will be brought to you by the word “Cheesecake!”
What you have prepared for all day literally goes by in a
flash.
So why go through the chaos? Because even the chaos is a
memory. The pictures that come after are just tangible tokens of a life worth
remembering. The love and the joy that come from capturing these times in our
life, make every fruit snack incentivized pose, every M&M driven smile,
every Dairy Queen promised hug, so incredibly worth it.
