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Real Life Unedited

My youngest son just turned 14.  He planned his entire birthday weekend.  We went floating on the river, got frozen custard at a new favorite restaurant, and ended the weekend with gourmet cupcakes.  It was super fun (even though the cupcakes were a little dry and we didn’t reapply sunscreen as often as we should have…..to our bodies, not the cupcakes.)

Anyway, I digress.

So as we exit the cupcake shot, I stop everyone and say “Hey!  Let’s take a family selfie in front of the store.”  My wife jumps right in beside me.  My oldest rolls his eyes with the customary dissent of ‘Dad’.  (You know the one I mean – the one that very clearly communicates you are the stupidest life form to ever exist in the universe.)  My youngest son – the birthday boy – proclaims ‘Fine…but I’m gonna ruin your picture.’  (He’s the kid in the back – who, even with his sincerest attempt to grimace still looks like a fashion model.)  And my middle son flat refuses, arguing with us that people are trying to come out of the store (to which I reply, ‘So?!  Let them eat cake.’  Which I found quite clever and he found quite horrifying.)

And this still might be one of my favorite family pictures!  Because it reminds me of a few things:

a) My kids are gorgeous.  They get it from their mother.

b) It’s OK if we don’t agree on everything – and it’s OK to express it, even in tangible ways.

c) We can smile in the midst of disagreement.

d) We can relent and give in, even when we don’t want to.

e) I’m always their dad…rarely their friend.  And they want to see me that way.

f) I have a lot of gray hair…and somewhere, that’s considered a crown of glory.

Enjoy the next photo gone wrong, trip with a hiccup, or child with a strong opinion.  It's real life unedited, and what makes you family….

Share your own family photo of life unedited here...

 

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