“Cannot Take Photo”, my iPhone screen blinks at me. No! Not now. Please not now! I quickly slide through the photos on my iPhone, trying to find a few I can delete to make room for this perfect moment. I glance up at my daughter to make sure she is still in the same spot. Hurry, hurry, hurry! I think, as I find a few photos that aren’t quite as valuable as this moment.
“There is not enough available storage to take this photo. You can manage your storage in Settings.”Still?! Grrrr. As I swipe to find more to delete, the worst thing happens…. my daughter bolts. She’s done playing in the picture-perfect sand pit and is now running towards the parking lot. I catch her just in time and snuggle her close. I’m mad I missed the perfect photo and sad I had to delete other cute ones for nothing, but so thankful she’s safe! As she smiles up at me, I glance at my phone, hold my breath and try to snap a selfie of the two of us… and guess what, it worked!
I look horrible in the photo, but she is beaming. But shoot! Why do I look so awful? I’ll just delete it, no one would ever know. But I couldn’t do it – I saved the silly selfie because it’s a memory. And I want my daughter to know that I don’t always look perfect and that’s ok. It wasn’t easy… if I didn’t have a daughter, that picture would be long gone and never be seen again. But I’ve realized that these days, it’s no longer just about me.
The best thing we can do to help our daughters with their self-image is to stop obsessing about ours. Yes, try to look nice and take care for yourself, but at the end of the day, no matter what, keep the photos.
Then, I took the next step and printed a book with the photos… greasy hair, crazy faces, pulled back bun and all. It was the very first photobook that I didn’t stress over for hours. I downloaded the app and uploaded around 80 pictures. Selfies of my daughter, selfies of the two of us, pictures I snapped of her daddy and her zonked on the couch together – beautiful or not, they all help special memories. All those photos that were taking up space on my phone now finally have a home – a beautiful book of printed pictures my daughter can actually flip through.
And you know what? I’ve never been so proud of a book. I even teared up as I flipped through the pages, because it was so honest and real. I could see myself back in those moments, in the life we have lived and I couldn’t be more proud and happy of how this life is turning out.
I totally challenge you to try it yourself! I think you’ll be surprised at the results. Snap more selfies with the kids, keep those selfies, and upload them into you very own “selfie” book. By the way – are they still called “selfies” when there are two of us in the shot? Make a book for real memories. The good, the bad and the ugly — the truth. So our daughters (and sons) will see that it’s ok to live a non-picture perfect life.
Be sure to use this $8 off code on your next photobook: ATRMP
- Download the Photolane app (currently only on iOS).
- Upload your photos directly from your phone, remember don’t be picky — be real!
- Order and you’re done in less than 10 minutes! Expect it at your door in under 5 days.
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Thanks Photolane for sponsoring this post and encouraging all of us to take more photos with our kids!
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