This is how I had planned our Christmas photo shoot to be…I admit, I had planned it through rosy colored glasses.
I had visions of this year’s card photo being that of snow, snow and more snow! We would take it while playing in the snow, B would be utterly bliss-filled delightful on account of the snow and A would be a content little snow bunny. We would all be donning our new snowy apparel and appear to be one happy family fresh from the L.L.Bean winter catalog. We would take it one Saturday morning after breakfast while anticipating some delicious hot chocolate and a lazy morning together inside afterwards.
Reality didn’t quite pan out as ‘quintessentially’ as I had hoped. A really snowy playtime wasn’t possible as Minnesota is experiencing a huge and bizarre snow DROUGHT! The photo shoot itself did not happen on a lazy Saturday morning, instead it was squeezed into a very busy Saturday morning before trips to the home depot, grocery store and Christmas tree lot.
And we learned that snapping ONE good photo with a 2 year old, 8 month old and pup proves more challenging than we ever think!
Just to paint a picture, here is a glimpse…
Me: “B, let’s go outside and take a picture!”
B: “No, thank you please”
Me: “But you get to wear your snow pants and boots like daddy!”
B: “Okay”
We proceed to get everyone bundled (it was about 15 degrees outside the Saturday morning we chose to check the photo off of our list) and ready to go.
C has me sit down with Ella and A (in the most snowy part of our yard we can find) so he can get the camera and tri-pod set up. B ‘helps’ all while complaining his “Boots are too heabey!”
Trial #1: C pushes the timer button….and runs with B in tow to duck into the photo…and then realizes he cut off his head.
Trial #2: C’s head is in the photo! B is looking down, A is looking at C, my eyes are sort of closed and Ella is watching our neighbors pull into their driveway!
Trial #3-7 look a lot like this, too far away…the kids aren’t looking at the camera, etc. etc. At this point I am trying to keep my ‘cool’ feeling rather deflated as I am realizing that the shoot itself is going down hill rather quickly.
Our neighbors noticed our grand effort (and probably heard B’s less than polite complaints) and graciously offered to take the photo for us to alleviate the need for C and his little helper to run back and forth between the camera and the photo spot.
The help allowed us to snap ONE (yes, this was the best we could get) photo with all of us at least looking at the camera. C joked that someday we are going to send one of the ‘not good’ shots as our official Christmas photo to provide a more realistic display of what real life in our neck of the wood looks like!
In all honesty, that might not be a bad idea…see, the photo shoot didn’t turn out half bad…in fact, I have come to enjoy the expressions that each of us display and love that you can see some snow, C’s big boot, B’s polar bear hat and little A’s bright pink snow suit.
Now that I am a touch removed from the ‘shoot’ I realize the need to protect my heart from unrealistic expectations…yes, it’s okay to dream about what things might be like but even more important to enjoy every moment (even when they don’t live up to expectations) because every moment is a gift, and if I live disappointed by expectations not being met, I might miss out on simple joys like getting to talk with and get help from our new neighbors.
I also am reminded of the need to be real…I don’t want to imply that we live this totally put together, bliss-filled, perfect, snowy, problem-free life…we aren’t a family out of a catalog…we are real and quite honestly not often put together…but if I’m honest with myself, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Merry Belated Christmas from our not always put together neck of the wood to yours!
Be blessed.
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