Forget Perfection, Embrace the Moment

My husband and I had a conversation a while ago that revolved around the fact that when we go somewhere with the kids, and I grab my camera bag, he groans. Mostly inwardly, but sometimes it creeps out his mouth and reaches my ears. The reason is, because I'm a little tunnel-visioned and kind of, a little teeny tiny bit, of a perfectionist.

What that means is, when the camera comes out, I get into work mode and everything else goes out the window. So my wonderful husband becomes the pack mule, the baby wrangler and the photographer assistant all at once. My ears are deaf to the wails; my eyes are blind to the baby eating wood chips (and let's be honest, even if I wasn't blind to it, I would just look at it as another opportunity for a cute baby moment); and my poor husband is just left to deal with everything.

So I get it. It's a little obnoxious to be married to me.

So I have tried to get better. I've tried to learn if I bring my camera, it's just another good opportunity to seize the moment and document the memories. I mean, what did our parents have when we were kids? Not much, right? Disposable cameras? And the few pictures we have of ourselves and our families are cherished - not because they are perfectly artistic, gorgeous photographs, but because they are memories.

It's the memories we love. The memories we talk about. Not about how well composed or original the pictures were. Not about how perfect the lighting was and what type. We talk about how many wood chips the baby could fit in her cheeks. About how this was the moment that our two and half year old confidently went down the twirly slide by herself without coaxing! We talk about how much we enjoy these moments. Right here. Right now. And how glad I am that I have these pictures so that one day, when our kids are grown,( and my memory isn't so good), we can look back and remember these moments that go by all too quickly.