One day not too far off.

I've had many of friends, family and some strangers comment on how many pictures I take.  Or how I always bring my camera along to activities/events.  Most are lighthearted, "Your kids are trained, aren't they." or "Is that thing (camera) permanently attached to you?" I just laugh it off cause they are usually correct.  Truth is, I believe it's my JOB to capture my children's childhoods and chronicle our family as the seasons change.  I take it seriously and for the most part ENJOY it.  Don't get me wrong...going through thousands of pictures to put in the best to our family album or lugging a camera through the Zoo is not my favorite things to do.  It's not always easy to be the family historian.  But I like to think about this....

One day not too far off, I'm sitting on my porch swing.  It's quiet all around me. I have no where to be in the for seeable future and there is no one needing "Mama".  I can hardly remember what it's like to have a baby on my hip.  There are no toys strewn across the porch, no sidewalk chalk decorating my steps.  My car is clean without a trace of football cleats, McDonald's fries and stray pacifiers.  I finish my meals without any interruptions. Date nights can be any night the Man and I choose.  I lay my head down at night and don't move until the morning.  I sit there thinking not of how once I longed for moments like this, but troubled.  Thinking of how I would love to have a busy afternoon ahead of me chasing toddlers, waiting in the pick up line at school and shuttling kids to dance or tball practice.  Hoping if maybe I listen closely enough I can hear someone calling "Mama".  Or if I think real hard I can remember the smell of their fresh bathed skin at nights while tucking them in.  I gaze down the sidewalk wishing to see my little man and his Daddy learning to ride his bike without training wheels.  I would give up sleep, my clean sink and countless hours of "me time" just see them little once again.

So when I've completed this exhausting season, after working long & well parenting toddlers and young babes...I'll have these moments to look back on. I strive to make their childhoods magical and do my best to capture behind my camera and journaling so we can all relive it in the years to come.  I'll also hug a little more, play a little longer and single Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as many times as they ask.