Photos of Me

I spent this last weekend at a fabulous Close to My Heart Retreat. We made many beautiful things and I had a fabulous time with friends (a post will be coming soon filling you all in). And I took a lot of pictures that I was actually in. I don't do that very often--get in the photo I mean. Numerous reasons why--I'm too focused on getting the picture to think about joining it, don't like what I'm wearing, having a bad hair day, feeling fat.... The excuses go on and on. The downside of this is that when I need a picture of me or am looking for a family shot with me in it, my options are limited. I know I need to get in those photos more. I just haven't been very proactive about it.

Tuesday was my daughter's 16th birthday. A day to be celebrated! My son snapped a photo of me with Kristina, a shot mostly of my back, not a very flattering one. And then he posted it on Facebook. The focus of the photo was Kristina, not me. The intention was to highlight his sister's birthday, not my back fat. Do you want to know what my reaction was? "Untag me in that photo now."

And then I took a deep breath and I realized this wasn't about me and I remembered reading this blog post.

http://myfriendteresablog.com/so-youre-feeling-too-fat-to-be-photographed/

The bottom line is that to fully appreciate the moment photographed, you needed to know I was there helping Kristina. Someday, someone may look at that photo and say, "I remember that day. Kristina didn't want to try on her new shirt and Mom made her and then she was trying to help her with her belt and Kristina was laughing..." And no one will say, "Doesn't Mom look fat?" At least I hope not. And if they do, well, then, they do. But I think they'll be glad to have the photo of me more so than not. Maybe?

Anyway, I'm trying to be less self-conscious. I'm trying to get in those photos more. And, oh yes, I am eating healthier so that maybe that next photo will be a little more flattering (I'm human, people!).

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Don't forget, the perfect opportunity is coming up to scrap some photos of yourself (or others). ArtisticU is April 18th to 20th. Go to Artisticu.net for more info or to register.