In Front of the Camera

I am not one of those people who refuses to have her picture taken. It's fine, go ahead. A little smile and click ... no big deal. However, that is assuming there is at least one other person in the picture with me. A pic all by my lonesome? Oh, ugh. I turn into the biggest, nerdiest geek ever. I feel so lame being photographed, I start smiling super-cheesy smiles and begin jumping around like I am rather addled and confused.

So when Pops asked if he could take a picture of me in my pretty summer dress (that I didn't really need and he let me purchase anyways), I really didn't want to. But he looked so earnest, told me I was pretty, and ... he did buy me the pretty summer dress. So, I put my shoes back on without even bothering to buckle them and clumped outside.

The entire session took less than a minute but Pops kept the shutter button pressed. Out of the twenty or so shots, I managed to not look at the camera or be doing something rather odd for every single shot. But, oh well. We've already established that I am not hip or cool, I'm just a mom who likes to get dressed up sometimes. Everyone who actually knows me is not under the impression that move around like a sleek model, so really my photos are actually a pretty decent representation of the awkward me ... like it or not!

But here's the thing. Us moms are usually the ones behind the cameras. While we may not particularly love photos of ourselves, our kids will. I know the pictures from when I was young that include my mom are distinct treasures. To me, she looks gorgeous in every single one. And I have a feeling that 30 years from now, we'll think we look pretty darn fine too.

So here's my challenge, girls. I've seen your blogs and I love them. But I also know you are like me and feel goofy putting photos of yourself on display. Will you give it a whirl? Do it for your kids. Do it for yourself and then we can all meet back here in a few decades and wonder why we were all so self-conscious in the first place. Is it a deal?