An imperfectly perfect snapshot

This just might be my very favorite picture of Mason to date. I have taken tens of thousands of pictures. I have poured over many of them, editing out harsh hues, clarifying, sharpening and brightening images until  I am happy with the result.   Fundamentally, it's all wrong .This pictures is a snap shot. Looking in the background, you can see that my windows have hand prints and smudges on them, conceding that my life isn't picture perfect .  But this one photo embodies the very essence of Mason at this stage in his life. Set on the idea of independence, determined to grow up, he has learned to use a spoon but also, and maybe more importantly, when to abandon it and slurp right from the bowl, like the big boys do. His beloved fruits snacks at his elbow and the always present Hot Wheels car with in reach paints a perfect picture of life with this 21 month old being. The way the morning sun spills in reminds me of our early mornings together .

 This is exactly why I love photography. In 5, 10, 15 years my mind will be bogged down with new things- report cards, drivers education classes and graduations. Though I never want to forget these things, these tiny details that weave our days into months and months into years, I know I might.  But there is something I can do, a memory trail for our future selves- to dig through piles files of pictures and have memories jogged, to see squishy, sleepy faces and smell his sweet " all boy" smell and to go back, even for just a second, and be in this moment again. That is what photograph is for me. I am their historian. They are mine.