Soon to be annoying my kids with a camera in their face everywhere we go!

I used to be one of those mom's that took my camera every where my kids went. The park, the ballgames, playing in the yard, etc. Then somewhere along the way my camera grew up, it was big and heavy, and considering the fact that it was now a business asset and not "just a camera", the risk of having something happen to it on vacation or the trip to the zoo was just too great and I stopped taking those weekly snapshots of my kids. In my mind I thought, "instead of being busy capturing the moment, I'll be busy living in the moment, and burning it to my memory." But I knew that was just a way to make myself not feel bad for not even taking a camera on our last summer vacation.


So my wonderful husband surprised me on my birthday this year with a little teeny, tiny point and shoot camera. That's right folks, I've come full circle! This little thing can fit in my purse, hangs freely around my wrist without too much concern about what it bumps into. And you know what? I actually USE IT! I've taken pictures of my kids at their softball games, their last track and field day, the day Jack and I went to the zoo with our friends (hi Kate!). I'll admit, it was at first hard to get over the fact that every picture I take isn't some wonderful masterpiece of a portrait. But then I look at this one.



I could list off 18 "technical errors" in this image. It certainly won't win any awards, my photographic peers (who are some of my best friends, actually) wouldn't give it a second look and really doesn't even tell a story to the general viewer. But what it says to the mom that took it, is really all that matters.


Every Friday during the school year is deemed "Jack and Mom" day around here. Since Jack doesn't go to daycare on Fridays, I am placed with the weekly task of figuring out what to do with our time that doesn't involve sitting Jack in front of Caillou and Word World for hours on end. (PBS shows for those of you that don't live with the under 4 crowd) And unfortunately for me (and Jack) I'm not exactly that mom that takes my kids to weekly trips to the zoo (45 minute trip one way) or the Children's museum (I really dislike driving down town) or any number of wonderfully kid oriented, but "need to make a day trip out of it" adventures. You see I like to get our "adventure" out of the way before lunch and nap time, plus my attention span is that of a 3 year old too.


So every Friday morning for the past school year (give or take less than a handful I'm sure) Jack and I drop the girls off at school and head to Burger King for breakfast. We don't even bother with the play structure. Nope... we sit in the SAME booth and order the SAME cinni-mini's and "hashbrowns" (that's just a nice name for tator tots in the morning) and we just sit and eat and giggle and talk to people that pass us by, we chat with the workers, and wave at the people in the drive through (that's Jack's FAVORITE thing, he waves and then smiles as big as he can), we talk about the "big trucks" and the color of those "big trucks". Every now and then he'll see a motorcycle or a school bus and holler it out at the top of his lungs just to make sure everyone in the restaurant is also aware of the MOST AWESOME THING he just saw - I love that about him! Several times he's made "friends" with construction workers or grandpa types. Many times on our way out, as Jack is waving big and yelling "BYE!", he'll get a "see ya buddy!" right back.


So as you can see, this "technically terrible" snapshot holds a special place in my heart. It's of our last Burger King trip of the 2007-2008 school year. It reminds me of that 45 minutes we spend every week in "our booth" and how for $7.00 and change every week, I not only bought 2 orders of cinni-mini's and hashbrowns, but I got a year full of memories worth way more than the price of admission.