Preserving Childhood...One Imperfect Moment At A Time

As I went through old pictures yesterday, I realized my favorite weren't the posed photographs we took at the studio, they were the ones I snapped around the house while the kids were just being kids. Memories of the older two just being themselves. The house wasn't in order, they weren't dressed fancy, they were themselves, just being kids... Daniel was little and learning about the world around him. 

In my attempt to capture Instagram-worthy photos that would generate many likes, I am missing the most important moments of my children’s lives. The quiet moments where they discovered the wonders of a goldfish, or created the most enthralling construction site ever.  In my attempt to wait for perfect moments, I am missing all of the imperfect ones that made each and every minute of my day so sweet.

Life travels too swiftly.  In my daily life, I’m not ashamed to say that we reside in our jammies for much longer than is socially acceptable.  We have snarly, jacked-up hair that never seems to stay in place.  I have children whose assertion towards independence includes dressing themselves in creative ensembles you’ll never find in a GAP ad.  The floor is generally strewn with toys, someone inevitably has snot running down their nose, and most of our grins are accessorized with chocolate quotation marks and milk mustaches.  In my daily life with the boys, perfect moments are few and far between.

 Life is not made of perfect moments.  However, it is pieced together beautifully by many imperfect ones.  In-between those cracks is where real, authentic, life-long joy is found.  If I waited for perfect moments when everyone’s hair was tamed, clothes matched, and noses were snot-less, I would miss my entire life.  It would pass me by so quickly, and I’d have nothing to show for it.

Stop waiting for perfect pictures.  Stop comparing yourself and your children to seemingly perfect photos on social media.  Capture as many seemingly mundane, everyday photos of your children as you can.  Every day those shirts get smaller and those jeans creep up higher.

When my kids are grown, and I’m rocking back and forth in my squeaky old rocking chair…when my face is mostly wrinkles and I’ve lost track of my age…the moments I will treasure, will yearn for, are the everyday, messy-faced moments that I got to share with my babies.

Don’t hide your cameras in the closet.  Every day is full of beautiful, tiny moments that will silently disappear unless you catch them.