Selfies

I have been mesmerized by selfies for a while.

I have driven a professional photographer friend crazy for years in asking him to take one with me using his awesome jumbo camera at charity events he is tirelessly working. I think we are on year three or four of this and we automatically know one will be captured at events we end up at together. Silently – and at just the right time – we end up in the frame. He has access to them all, yet I have seen very few. I know I will be captivated when I finally see them.

Three years ago I started in on our son with wanting photos with just the two of us. He has natural selfie arms, standing as he does at 6′ 2″. My only rule is no filters. About when he left for college, and I felt time rushing out from under my feet, the camera icon moved to the front screen of my phone. It had to be easy to access for the fleeting opportunities that came up.

I have never waited to take a picture until I have lost a few pounds or my hair is done or my skin is blemish free. I don’t wait until the wind dies down or the sun moves. I take the picture. It will forever be the memory of the hand that touched my back or the “smooshing” together or the way the night air felt that lives in me when my eyes rest on the image.

We drag his dad into the selfies when all three of us are in the same place, which is increasingly rare. I want to be able to look back – even if over just a few months or years – and see us. Us as we are. Us as we were. Unpolished and not always ready for pictures. Us.

Time flies. Fast. I am going to take as many pictures as I can. I don’t want to forget any of this.

One last shot. Sometimes, you just gotta make a party out of selfies. Parties only last so long…

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