We'll Have These Moments to Remember (We Just Won't Have Pictures)

      I had only been a mom  a few months when I acquired my first scrap booking kit.  It contained a one inch loose leaf notebook, plastic sleeves, paper and stickers. It was a great place to start chronicling the early events of our children's lives. Of course the original note book was outgrown quickly, eventually swelling to a 5 inch binder. It was about that time that I decided to start breaking things down by subject, so that I now have books for each child for grade school, middle school and high school, plus dance albums, baseball albums, birthday books, scouting scrapbooks and albums of vacation photos.

    As I looked back through these photos,  I discovered that although I took some great photos, and displayed them nicely, I wasn't having much luck getting those absolute never to be forgotten  moments, especially where the Boy was concerned. For example, it took me about 8 years of baseball to get a simple shot of a ball coming off the bat.

      And speaking of baseball, when he was in high school they got to play one game each season at the minor league ball park in our city.  One year I missed due to work. Twice the camera died before he ever got to back.  Finally this year,  his senior year, I got a decent shot.

      My track record at school ceremonies is even worse.

      When he "graduated" from the 5th grade, I videotaped the actual crossing the stage moment, which meant that this was as close as I got in the photo album:

He's in there somewhere, I promise.

      At his middle school recognition ceremony someone stood up to take a picture of their kid, who was right before my child so naturally I missed the big moment.  All I got was a picture of him walking away:

      At this point I began to feel that either my son or the camera gods were conspiring against me.

When High School graduation arrived the school announced that no photos were permitted. This was about as successful as a similar note about no applause.  We were seated in the back though, and this is the picture of the Boy getting his diploma.

At least no one stood up in front of me this time,

In general, I've had somewhat better luck with the Girl, here's the picture of her 8th grade recognition:

  The blur in the middle is the trophy they handed her.

Last week we took the Boy to college.  They had a lovely Matriculation ceremony, at which the kids were officially made students at the school.  They even had large video screens set up so we could see the kids as they went up to the stage, introduced themselves, and received school pins.
I actually got a picture of the Boy waiting his turn at the mic:

However when he actually got to the podium the guy in front of me leaned forward at just the wrong moment, leaving me with this picture of my son introducing himself to the world:

 

    

     Life goes by in a blur, especially where kids are concerned.  One of the reasons I scrapbook is to freeze some of those moments for later enjoyment. To stop and say "Oh look, how small/cute/silly/amazing that was". But some memories will just have to remain in our hearts and heads only and not on paper. But that's OK too. It's where they are supposed to be in the first place.