A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

One of our late summer traditions is to have our family picture taken in the five week span each year where our children are three different ages, such as 9, 10, and 11 in 2019.  For the last five years, the same wonderful professional photographer has captured lovely images of our hard to photograph bunch.  It started in 2015 with me telling her that I just wanted one photo with everyone looking in the approximate right direction and reasonably happy, but she has always given us so much more, not just in regard to the pictures, but in terms of patience, thoughtfulness, and acceptance.

Our annual photo shoot is a benchmark for me about where we were as a family.  Each time, I can look back and mark progress and challenges for our children.  We have one child that is triggered by the idea of a family photo, one child who has steadily improved the ability to be photographed and participate in the process, and one child who still gets overwhelmed by the sensory aspects of the outdoor session, such as barking dogs, grass clippings that stick to shoes, and insects buzzing nearby.  It's never perfect when we endeavor on this annual adventure, but the photos are always exactly right.

After finishing up at the park, we head to breakfast where we eat way too much food, make far too much noise, and leave a too big tip. Thank you, Carrie Lynne, for five great years of priceless memories.  Here's to many more.

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see." 
- H.D. Thoreau