Are photographing your children?

I know for those  who have babies, the answer is obvious. We take thousands of pictures of our babies and share them with anyone and everyone.  We continue to take lots when they’re toddlers and preschoolers although a little less.  Once they get into school we seem to take significantly less. 

I put together a scrapbook for my mother for Christmas with pictures of her and our kids while they were growing up.  I noticed there was a huge gap between about the ages of 5 and 17 when they graduated from high school.  I had a few pictures but very few.  I wish I had taken many, many more.  I wish I’d taken more when Mom was here visiting when the kids were 8 and 10 and 11. When she’s visiting us now, I take a lot because I know how valuable they’ll be later on. 

 Thank goodness for the many team pictures we have.  Our son was in team sports every year until he graduated and my daughter was in dance and riding so we have pictures of her riding and dancing.  What we have little of is the day to day activities.  Yes, every birthday has been recorded as well as Christmases but there’s all the mundane stuff in between.  Those things mean a lot when you look back. 

I notice with digital photography people take a lot more pictures so perhaps we won’t be forgetting those middle years as much.  You know whenever someone asks what you would take out of your house if it was burning, the first thing most people say are the photographs. 

Go out today and take pictures of your kids doing ordinary things.  You’ll treasure them in years to come.  It’s another way of saying “You mean a lot to me.”