Skip to main content

Parents... Stay in the Picture

A couple of years ago, I read an article about how moms should stay in the pictures we take of our kids. My gray hairs have multiplied, but I try to stick to this -- I remember fondly looking through old pictures of me as a kid - and loved seeing what my parents looked like back then, too.

So I have a new plea for parents when you send out annual holiday cards. For those like me - intensely private on social media, rarely sharing photos of people online - it's often the only way I get to see what old friends are up to, what they look like, and how much their kids look like them or their spouse. But more and more often, holiday cards feature only the kids, maybe along with pets.

I remember the moment this happened when my parents received Christmas cards from their friends. I was about 7 or 8 and all of a sudden, I only saw my buddies in the holiday cards strung across our living room. Now that we're grown, we want to share photos of our kids in similar ways.

Living away from many, many, many of my friends (and even stateside, I wouldn't be near all of them...), I miss seeing their faces in this annual tradition.

So on behalf of your friends who haven't seen you in a while: don't leave yourself out of the holiday photo card!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Saturday Morning Comparisons: by haiku

2 haikus 9 am Sunday morning in downtown Austin: Cyclists in spandex spin by Amidst the stench of vomit and homelessness Empty streets save for a motorcycle parade. 9 am Sunday morning, Alstadt, Mainz: The sun is shining A giant farmer's market fills the plaza Pedestrians, bikers, families smiling together.

Frankfurt Airport, it's Time for a Do-Over

I'll start this post with a rant. I really hate Frankfurt Airport. Now, I've slept overnight at more airports than is normal - SFO, ORD, YYZ. So many, and I still remember the airport codes - this makes me somewhat of an expert. In Frankfurt, well, the putrid gray colors...the parking garages that are cold and endless... the smoking rooms you can smell from too far away... the lack of water fountains... the lack of helpful staff... I could go on. The absolute worst part though, is the process to reclaim your VAT. It's convoluted during normal working hours, and even more convoluted outside those times. Since neither Frankfurt's airport, nor inside signage, nor information desk, can be bothered to clearly explain how it works, here is your guide. After 4 failed attempts at off-hours VAT reclamation by 3 different family members.... we shall fail no more! DURING WORKING HOURS (7 am - 6 pm): Customs window is open. Find the window ("Zoll") in your terminal...

Repatriation, Month 2

We're in the second month of returning stateside. What an evolution it's been. We relied heavily on family to get us through the first few weeks, spending nearly every weekend with cousins. It was nice, but they have their own routine, and we needed to establish our own. Finally, with the house painted, new floors installed, furniture delivered (hallelujah!), assembled, and boxes (mostly) cleared out, it looks like a house we can live in. Camping had become exhausting and wore the kids out. On the other hand, suddenly having a full house somewhat overwhelmed them - they would start massive fights over a single toy, ignoring the fact that there were now quite a lot of options to choose from. Given our long-term exhaustion over the past several months, this has been an annoying challenge. We have started to establish more of a routine though, and I already feel my mood lifted because of it. I hope it's the same for the kids. The early morning school routine hurts (whyyyyy...