First Day of School

The first day of every school year is full of tradition at our house. When the kids were little they got to dress up in their cute little "first day of school" outfits. We would stand outside in the front yard with the cool new backpacks and the perfect plastic lunch pail we had spent 45 minutes in the store picking out. Everyone would happily smile and have their picture taken.

Well...I am here to tell you that times have changed for this Family.

First of all, this was Mo's first year of high school. The look on her face pretty much sums it up...."Why MUST I do this?"
To which I respond, "Get your butt over there and smile!"

Nasty look with eye roll...



"Do you want to be late for your first day of school? " I reply. Followed by,
"No, you don't and this car isn't leaving the driveway until I get my pictures!!!"

One problem is that on the first day of school this last year it was already about 95* out before we even packed lunches. Getting the kids to put on anything more than a tank top or tshirts was pretty much impossible. Alas, they go to school looking like the kids whose mom finds it more important to buy cigarettes and Jack Daniels than to buy her kids school clothes. WHICH IS NOT TRUE!!! The kids had tons of clothes in the house they could have worn to school that day. I think they just want to torture me... Actually, I know they do.

Ahhh....ummm... Where was I going with this story??

Oh Yes! I remember now...




As you can tell, Mo is pretty darn irritated that BEB (Blue Eyed Boy) is acting like a ??? humm??? What shall I refer to it as? I know, a boy! BEB is definitely acting like a boy here. All Mo wants to do is get the stinkin' pictures done so she can get to school and her brother is going to be as uncooperative as he can so that what would have been 5 poses turns into about 25 poses. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I suffer every year for the First Day of School to get pics of the kids?

Well you see, I have a plan, a vision, a dream. For some reason, I guess after around our 3rd birthdays my mom seems to have stopped taking pictures of us. There are a couple I remember seeing; Sis and I dressed up for Halloween as clowns and also one of us opening Christmas presents. But other than that, we seemed to have disappeared. No first day of school pictures, no birthday cakes, no parties at the roller rink, no Christmas presents and no Easter bunny pictures. Where did Sis and I go?

So, my plan is that one day I will be able to present my children with their own photo albums. Lovingly tucked inside will be a First Day of School picture for every single grade, a picture of them on their birthday, and a picture of their birthday cake.

Will they appreciate this? If you asked them today I am sure they wouldn't. But I can promise you they won't be wasting countless hours of their adult lives wondering why their parents never took pictures of them.

Until then.... Say Cheese!!!