Tradition!

When I was growing up, you didn't get the camera out for just anything, you waited for an occasion. Film was expensive! And processing didn't grow on trees! Sort of like long distance phone calls in my formative years. You waited until you had some very big news before you dialed more than seven digits. With the advent of modern technology and taking pictures without the complications of film and cell phone plans with unlimited minutes, well, most of us don't think twice before snapping or speed dialing. Of course the camera appeared for family gatherings, particularly if there were out-of-town relatives in attendance. In my family, taking pictures at Christmas and to capture the blowing out of birthday candles was traditional, as was the first day of school snapshot. I'm not sure why my mother wanted to preserve how the four of us looked at the beginning of the school year, but I remember very clearly posing with my new lunch box and carefully chosen outfit for the first day of school. So it's a tradition I continued with my own children. Even if the start of a new school year is somewhat dreaded, maybe because the start of school means summer is definitely over, and none of us look forward to homework and class projects, my sons have over the years dutifully smiled for me with their new backpacks in tow. And except for the few times the weather didn't cooperate, we took the pictures outside. There's something about the optimism of starting anything anew, even if it's something you have mixed feelings about. I don't know why I adopted this tradition from my family of origin, but I'm so glad that I did. Looking back over fifteen years of this milestone day in the lives of my boys, it is a gift to see how they've changed and grown. Thanks, Mom.