Christmas Card Reality

Family is two kids who got into a shoving match during this photo shoot that ended in mom yelling and tears flowing.

I was embarrassed, but the photographer brushed it off.

She’s seen a million families in front of her lens, not one the same. Not one perfect.

Family often gets the worst of us — for our littles it’s because with us they feel safe.

Such a frustrating paradox for parents — and yet, I’m guilty of it too.

My loves, they are forgiving, so I let myself be careless with my words and my body language.

Sending messages I don’t mean, a temporary satisfaction.

Family is a kid who won’t look at the camera, but is finally at home in his father’s lap,

happiest when his siblings reign chaos all around him.

Family is what happens after the pictures, before the pictures, in all the in-between times.

This is mine. We are messy — don’t let the picture fool you.

The grown-ups are impatient and sometimes rude.

The children are impatient and are sometimes rude.

But we’re in it together, and we always keep trying.