I have never been what one might call Photogenic. In fact, if you look in the dictionary at the antonym for Photogenic, you will see MY picture. I do NOT photograph well. Whereas, my sister can crawl out of bed with a bed of squirrels in her hair and she STILL looks fabulous. HATE HER! I’m just not one of those people. So needless to say, there aren’t very many pictures of me around. And most especially, there aren’t very many pictures of me with my boys. I kept thinking that I’d get one soon, I’d get one soon. And soon they were grown and hairy and no longer willing to cooperate with their mother while she snaps photo after photo.

I recently purchased a remote control clicker dealybob for my camera (that’s a technical term) just so I didn’t have to hunt down a warm body to snap the photos. Then, I finally tied them down (actually I threatened not to feed them) and I forced them AND myself into a family photo. I didn’t want to push the bar by making them dress up or anything. Hell, even I didn’t want to dress up. I just wanted a casual photo of us together as we are everyday. Sounds simple, right? Weelllllll, not so much.

Not when you have some moron (who is snapping the picture, by the way) who can’t even LOOK at the camera.

Then you have the same moron (who is snapping the picture, by the way) who can’t stop laughing because her children keep cracking her up.

Then you have oldest son who keeps making faces while moron snapping the picture is clueless.

Then you have oldest son who keeps making faces while moron snapping the picture is even LESS clueless.

Then you have oldest son who keeps making faces cracking up younger brother to the point where he’s red in the face and about to squirt something through his nostrils.

But FINALLY, after much whining and complaining and laughing and goofing around, we finally got a couple that could be our “official family portrait”. . . at least for another twenty or so years. Which one do you like better?

Choice #1

Choice #2

When the “photo session” was all over, my mother, who had been sitting in the wings, asked me, “If you won a million dollars, would they complain that much if you ask them to help you spend it?” I think NOT. What a workout! It was easier when they were little and I could threaten them with an early bedtime.