SCHOOL PICTURE DAY

Today was picture day at the school where I am blessed to be employed.  Oh the frenzy of forgotten order forms & misplaced dollars!  Oh the nervous excitement of seeing the flash (it's so bright you can HEAR it!) and the anticipation of being "next".....
I asked a group of 3rd graders "why do you think we take photographs at school?"  Among the delightful responses, one little boy said "so our parents can remember what we looked like when we move out and get our own house".

Indeed and Amen. 

 What a delight it is to remember.  A single image can take you right  back to the days when you were living happily. ever. after. 
(if you are lucky....and I am!)   

 This is Benjamin in first grade.  He chose his shirt with care, and even though it wasn't an authentic "Hickory"  (like the one of his dreams)  this picture captures the spirit of the happiest boy in my life.  I like everything about his picture - other than the fact that on this blog,  it's looking rather blurry.  The image  conjures the best of memories.  The best.    When I look at this picture, I can feel myself sitting outside his first grade classroom with all the other mom's, waiting for the bell to ring.  I can see CLEARLY, my wonderful, silly son chirping like a bird on his way to receive his "knows more about science than the teacher" award he received on the last day of school.  I can hear the little neighbor boys who lived across the street but spent countless hours on our sidewalk at 830 Territorial sharing the endless hours between after school and time for dinner routine.

 This is MaryAnne Rachelle in third grade.  The outfit she wore was a hand.me.down skirt outfit  from her cousins Stacy & Amanda.  It was a  very favorite of mine.  She wore it with the cutest brown lace up boots you can imagine.  Doesn't she look like a confident, secure, and smart little cookie?  When I see this picture, I am driving a carload of girls to "on your toes" dance class and hearing MaryAnne tell her friend "I have a cousin who is prettier than Miss America".   Chapter books, sticker books galore!, stashes of colored pencils and markers, reams of paper and "Michelle" on  Friday night television.  I remember it all. And it is sweet.

This is me in 3rd grade. Dressed  up in my very best  favorite "maxi" dress of all time.  The long skirt portion of this frock was a perfect patchwork of prints & the black buttons on top made it a smart match with my multi-purpose, wear them every single day black shoes.  My teacher, Mrs. Kabler, was the single most feared teacher in elementary school yet she turned out to be my favorite.  I absolutely loved learning to measure with a ruler in 3rd grade.  Singing top 40 hit songs (with teacher  Bev Evanson) during music was the ultimate.  What --  with that darling maxi-dress, I was  practically, almost practicing  DAILY to be back up for the Partridge Family!

Here's hoping YOU are in the middle of making wonderful school picture day memories or that you have your fair share looking back at you.