It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the temperature was just right. It was the kind of day that promises all kinds of warm, lovely, wonderful things.
It was also my mom's birthday and I had all sorts of lovely visions of us with my mom at the pumpkin farm. Unfortunately, instead of all those warm, lovely moments we ended up with grumpy, sassy, yuck instead.
It started when my mom got lost on the way to the pumpkin farm/orchard. It continued as I attempted to get our name on the waiting list at the cafe and was told the wait would be 2 hours. It went further downhill as my "starving" children complained and whined. Things really went to crap when we attempted a quick photo shoot for our fall family picture and the sun was apparently frying everyone's eyeballs out. It was sunny, I will admit but nothing a little squinting couldn't handle. Even when we moved into a shady spot a couple of us could no longer fake a smile. I was not happy at this point. I was done. And I was disappointed. I had such high hopes for the day and for my mom's birthday lunch.
You'd think by now, after so many years of having children, I'd know how to manage my expectations. I am usually so good at keeping them low. But today seemed such a recipe for a lovely time.
Ah well.
We did manage to turn the day around a bit with some apple cider and cute baby animals. It got a bit better still when we found another restaurant to treat my mother to lunch. And it was a delicious lunch. Overall, we pulled through.
7 comments:
I think when our expectations are the highest is when we often have the lowest of times. If we go into something with an attitude of attempting to be together as a family and spend time together and don't throw too many caveats onto it, the time can actually be very enjoyable. Its kind of like going to Disneyland for the first time with your kids. You want them to experience it perhaps as you experienced it the first time you went, but of course they and times are different, and it might not go the way it is planned and frustration can creep in. Sometimes its better not to plan too much and kind of let things flow. However, I was (am) the mother who planned extensively and often times things didn't go as planned. The good thing is you made an effort to be all together and to celebrate your mom's birthday. You and Todd chose that rather than "parking" the kids are home to their own devices (electronic or otherwise). You made an effort for family time. That always pays off!
(I do agree about the picture, but you know, that's okay because that's part of family, right??)
You know it, but you are blessed :)
truly blessed!
betty
Most photographers will tell you that having things a little off center is important and adds a tension rather than boredom. I think the picture is just fine and tells a story about that time. I am glad to see you are not perfect as a family and that you are normal like all the rest of us. I am sorry that the birthday luncheon was delayed, but you do look nice in the photo. Did you get one of your mom?
Yes! I am usually very good at keeping expectations low. I wasn't expecting something spectacular but certainly not the mess we got either. Oh well. My mom had a lovely time (she says) and that's all that matters.
And thank you. I do love my sassy family. ;)
You are right about the off center thing. But it just feels wrong in this one. If we were all off center it would look artistic but this just kind of looks messy. Who knows? You are definitely a better photographer than I so I will listen to you on this one. I just have to ignore my slight ocd. ;)
My mom didn't want her picture taken but we have many with her from other occasions.
Oh man I know what you mean about expectations, been in your situation many times! I just did that on a get away with my husband. Had it all built up in head and then everything seemed to go wrong from the get go. I had a total melt down over it. :/ I totally know better too!!! Will I ever learn...
That family picture is great by the way. 🙂
Maybe the adventure is in the unexpected! Life's imperfections make life a little more interesting, I think. But yeah, it's SO frustrating when you're just trying to have the good day you planned and everything seems to be working against you!
I remember feeling like I was going to kill someone when we tried to do a Xmas photo card every year with just the three kids. Your photo looks good to me!
Post a Comment