The story behind the picture

I think I must be a visual person. There are several blogs with content that really speaks to me, but I tend to find myself frustrated when I'm reading them. I read old posts, click lots of links, always looking for something... It finally hit me, I really want to know what these people look like and they don't have any photos of themselves. I'm not the best with names, but I usually don't forget a face. After contemplating this for a few minutes, I had a DUH moment. Aren't I the pot calling the kettle black? I tend to run from cameras, duck behind other people, and generally avoid having my picture taken. I think I learned it from my mom. She was always hiding from the camera. When she passed away suddenly, I decided to make a picture collage for the memorial service. I had to search high and low to find a handful of prints that I could use. Anyway, I decided to start smiling and stop running. I don't want my children to someday regret that there aren't any photos of their mother, and even more so, I don't want them to pick up the habit from me. So, today, the camera and I had an appointment. I found a beautiful tree outside in the courtyard, turned the camera on myself, and smiled. Some looked fake, some only caught half of my face, and some of them were absolutely hilarious, just ask Emily. Finally, one popped up on the screen and Emily said "That's it." When I asked her why she said, "It just looks like you." So, there you have it. It was easy, painless, and even a little fun. And for any visual people out there, this is me: