Selfie

Stream of Consciousness on a Wednesday Morning

A totally selfish post.  As if my thoughts and wishes would ever matter to anyone else but me!

 My favorite peonies, blooming on the side of my house by the driveway.  I see them every time I get in and out of my car.

They've been blooming for 3 days now.  I snap a picture every time I pass by.  

I snapped this picture this morning after I dropped my son off at the train station.  Then I decided to count the peony pictures in my phone.

There are 18 pictures of the same flowers!  I won't bore you with them all.

But it made me start thinking.  How cool it is that I can so easily snap pictures with my phone all day long.  How awesome it would have been to have had a camera phone when my kids were younger.  Which led to this thought: I wish I had started my blog 20 years earlier, so that I could have a really awesome photo journal of my kids as they grew up.

Instead of impulsively taking pictures of everything that catches my eye--like big fish in the supermarket--I could have a phone full of images of my kids.  If only there were camera phones back then.  If only I had a cell phone back then.  

~1997~

If only I was blogging back then.  If only I had internet access back then.  

~2009~

At ages 22, 19 and (almost) 18, there's no way my kids would let me blog about their current lives.  And there's no way they'd let me post pictures.

But if I had started this when they were younger, they would have been fair game.  

I could have posted about the time one-year-old Erin inhaled a plate of take-out lo mein, her clueless parents not realizing that she wasn't chewing, just slurping.  Several hours later, we heard her yelling in her sleep and ran into her bedroom only to find that she wasn't sleeping and the yelling was because she was covered in lo mein noodles.  If I had owned an iphone 17 years ago, would I have been able to resist snapping a picture of her sitting in her crib, two chubby hands raised clutching fistfuls of lo mein noodles with a look on her face of "whaaaaaaat????!!!"  Would I have blogged about it?  Oops, I guess I just did.

Erin in 1996.  Around the time of the noodle incident.

Three-year-old Sean, in a cart at the supermarket, waiting our turn at the deli, the opening chords of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" coming over the PA system--and then a pause as someone comes on to announce "cleanup in aisle 3" or some other typical supermarket blather--and Sean, hearing the chords, not missing a beat, belts out during the pause, "Wellllllll, that'll be the day!  When you say good-bye!!" garnering a round of applause from the rest of the shoppers waiting in line at the deli.  

Sean in 1996.  When he liked to sing Buddy Holly songs.

Sean at age 8, strapping on his first guitar, telling his sisters, "I'm going to leave the room and when I come back in you have to scream, 'Girls! Get him!' and run after me."  

Sean, again at age 8, singing "Fat-Bottomed Girls" at the top of his lungs while he showers.

Would I have blogged about any of that?  Hmmm....I guess I just did.

Caitie, with her love of accessories.  At 15 months of age, refusing to leave the house for a quick trip to the store until she finds her favorite (adult-sized) Red Sox helmet.  Escalating chants of "HOME-IT! HOME-IT!" (which was Caitie-speak for "helmet") as I tried to get her out the door.  Me, reluctantly finding the helmet (which I had hidden) when she decided she would wear a bucket (yes, a bucket) on her head instead.

Pushing my 15-month-old daughter through the supermarket with a huge Red Sox helmet on her head.  I wish I had owned an iphone in 1992 so that I could have quickly snapped a photo to document it. 

Three-year-old Caitie, at her dance class, her instructor asking the class for music suggestions.  Caitie: "You got any Rolling Stones?  I know you like them, I saw Mick Jagger in your car!"   (When we had pulled into the parking lot that day Caitie saw an air freshener in the shape of the Rolling Stones' tongue logo hanging from the rear view mirror in her instructor's car.)  Would I have blogged about this little exchange, about my 3-year-old daughter's love of the Rolling Stones (not so strange, she is my daughter after all)?

3-year-old Caitie in 1994.   She picked out this dress because she loved the accessory (goofy headband) that it came with.

Almost 6-year-old Caitie.  It may appear that her taste in clothing had improved dramatically, but the real reason she chose this dress was because she liked the "diamond" that was on the front.  It's all about the bling, man.

She has her own blog.  I'm grateful that I can check in and see what she's up to.  

And check out her accessories.

And marvel at how a baby with a penchant for accessories grows into a woman with a knack for accessorizing that leaves her mama shaking her head at the wonder of it all.  And also leaves her a tad jealous of her daughter's spectacular taste.

Whether she's away at school,

or spending the summer in New York city, I'm so happy that she's living her dream.  But Caitie, I miss you viciously and can't wait to see you this weekend! xoxoxo