Take the picture.

This sentence can mean so much, depending upon the moment.

In the middle of a family gathering and everyone is tired and impatient? Take the picture already! 

Oh quick, look at this! The kids are playing so cute together! Hurry, hurry, take the picture!

Mum is on the couch in her jammies and has clearly been up for three days. Your little one has just snuggled up to her and they’re both sound asleep. Definitely take the picture. (Don’t show her though… give it a few years.)

Grandma and Grandpa are here and the kids are bolting up the driveway to see them. Take the picture! 

Is Dad giving you anxiety because he’s tossing the baby a bit too high? It’ll make for a great photo! Take the photo, the baby will be fine!

Do you have photographs from your childhood with your grandparents, Mum, Dad, Aunities, Uncles and anyone else important to you? Are these people still with you today? What a privilege to look through old photographs and recall memories from so long ago! Perhaps the relationships have changed, or some people may have passed away. How special is it to have photographs to reminisce from that time in your lives?

Always be prepared to take the picture. That’s not to say keep your phone or camera at the ready all the time, but try to remember. It will take a bit of practice to make this an instinct, but you’ll get it! You don’t need to book a professional photographer to document your everyday memories.

If you don’t want to take the picture, ask yourself why not? My husband likes to “live in the moment” and “have the memory.” He usually isn’t prepared to take photographs. His outlook on that changed when my Dad passed away. He looks at photographs differently now. Everyday for the past three years at 5pm he has an alert to take a photograph of me with our son. He doesn’t always take it at the time, but this reminder has encouraged him to take photos at other opportunities.

Now I have photographs from holidays, teeth brushing, and dance parties! He has recently shown me beautiful photographs from the early days. I assure you, if I had known he was taking the photo at the time I’d have thrown his camera out the window. Years later, I am so happy to have these photographs! I look at myself so differently now that early motherhood is over. Nothing but compassion and kindness. The beauty in the eye bags and messy hair with a baby on your lap is unmatched. (Once you’ve passed the stage though!)

I look at photographs of my Grandmother from when she was younger. I was fortunate to have her as a huge part of my life growing up and into adulthood. She took photographs of everything! Before her marriage, with her children, grandchildren, then great-grandchildren. She has hundreds of albums that we get to look through.

When you have a moment you'll have to make sure to do something with them too! Don’t just leave them on your phone, the cloud, or a hard drive! There will most definitely be a future post about what to do with all of these photographs. It’ll be a doozy! 

Signing off for now. I’m about to go take photos of my kid and husband playing with Transformers!

xx