F-Stop That This Minute

I enjoyed seeing the pictures
Of my friend's kids'
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
On Facebook.

The shiny new shoes.
The optimistic smiles.
The homemade signs
Handwritten or printed in comic sans
Complete with the year
                            the grade
                                    the teacher.

First Day of Pre-K!!!
Second and Sixth!
I Can't Believe He's Starting High School!

My kid's pictures were
Conspicuous in their absence from my
Social Media Accounts this year.

The pictures all came out blurry.
Our camera does not have a
Temper tantrum setting.

If a Picture is Taken in a Forest...

The flash going off in the hallway is unexpected
I turn to see what exciting life event is being saved for posterity.

The oldest has commandeered the old point and shoot digital camera
With better cameras available on cell phones,
It has been relegated, unused, to a drawer for months.

But he has found it
And claimed it for his personal use.

And now,
Triumphantly
He holds his arms out away from his head and up at a 45 degree angle to the horizon
(pausing to adjust his baseball cap)
He turns the camera towards his face,
Which erupts in a full smile of eyes and braces and teeth!

Cheese!

He lowers the camera and flips it over to examine the screen
Turning the knobs to review the captured image.
He grins, satisfied, then punches a few more buttons
To delete the picture.

The selfie that no one will ever see.