Smile for the camera

For the last week I’ve been trying to get us ready for something we had scheduled yesterday that we haven’t done in almost six years.

And now I remember why.

Family pictures.

Let’s all have a moment of silence.

I mean, sure, we try to take a family picture in front of the tree on Christmas Eve as we’re all rushing out the door to church. And this past Easter we had a little photo session in the front yard that brought feelings and emotions out in me that made me extra thankful that Jesus died for my sins.

But I’m talking about real pictures. Taken by someone using something other than an iPhone camera.

And so I’ve spent the last week trying to coordinate outfits that work well together but don’t look too matchy-matchy. It was also important that they looked like something each of us would actually wear in real life. Because even though Caroline promised me she’d wear whatever I asked her to without complaining (See above Easter reference for when she learned that lesson.) I wanted it to be an accurate reflection of her style. And her current style isn’t so much Boden as it is Academy. However, I felt like a family picture deserved more than Nike running shorts and a stretchy sport headband from HEB.

P is easy. Plaid shirt, jeans, and boots. It’s been his “dress-up” uniform for the last thirty years and it works. Yes, it may be boring, but I promise that pictures of him from high school have stood the test of time much more than pictures of me from high school. When you fancy yourself a trendy dresser, you’re bound to have some regrets.

(I’m looking at you hot pink plaid Esprit pants worn with yellow and pink paisley shirt.)

I kept looking for the right thing for Caroline and had finally decided on a navy striped shirt with a navy cardigan from Gap that we bought last year. It seemed like the best option and I hadn’t seen anything else that really worked. But then I ran in Gap on Monday and found a cream tunic sweater that I felt would be perfect with her jeans and boots and also work with what P and I would have on.

I bought the sweater but I knew this was going to require a try-on session to make sure it looked good. And so when I picked her up from school and she asked if we could run by Starbuck for a frappuccino, I sensed the time was right to strike a deal. “Sure! But as soon as we get home, I need you to try on a couple of outfits for me.”

She’s powerless to resist the call of the Starbucks.

When we arrived home, I pulled the cream sweater out of the Gap bag and said, “Here you go! Try this on with your skinny jeans and boots.”

She crinkled her nose and asked, “Is that a turtleneck?”

“No. It’s a cowl neck.”

“Really? Because it looks like a turtleneck.”

“Well. It’s not. It’s a cowl neck. It’s a loose version that just drapes around your neck. Just go put it on.”

And so she did. Except she didn’t quite get the concept of a cowl neck and had pulled all that extra fabric down around her shoulders like a shrug and came out of her room complaining, “I can barely move in this thing. I can’t even lift my arms.”

This is what happens when you spend your whole life in assorted t-shirts from sporting goods stores.

I pulled the cowl neck off her shoulders and draped it around her neck the way God and the Gap intended. And she deemed it acceptable. I was feeling so optimistic that I declared, “That might even be cute to wear on Christmas!”

To which she replied, “Why would I want to wear a turtleneck at Christmas?”

Kids are precious.

Yesterday was the actual day and so if Easter and Christmas have taught me anything (I mean other than that Jesus loves me and came to save the world) it’s that I better have my hair and makeup finished hours ahead of time because my job on picture day is essentially to be like O’Brien on Downton Abbey. Except I’m not in as jolly of a mood.

So I showered and fixed my hair and did my makeup around noon. And then P stopped by the house to eat a quick bite for lunch and asked, “Now why are we getting family pictures made?”

“Because we haven’t done them since Caroline was four.”

“Well, does that matter? It’s not like we look at the ones we already have.”

Husbands are precious.

I reminded him that we needed to be ready to leave the house at 3:30. Then I went to pick Caroline up from school and began the process of rescuing her hair from its HEB sport headband and ponytail. I put on some lipgloss and we were ready to go and out the door at 3:30. It’s our first miracle of the holiday season.

And in the car I told them something that I may regret, but right now I mean it with all my heart. I said, “Just smile and do whatever we need to do to get some good pictures and we won’t have to do family pictures again until Caroline’s wedding day.”

Which, hopefully, is at least fifteen years away.

And even then might be too soon.

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