I’m totally that girl. The one who gets a boyfriend and drops her friends. Well, kind of. My husband came home from deployment for a short visit and I swear I haven’t blogged, talked on the phone much, or even (gasp!) kept up on Facebook! I remember girls like that in high school – the ones who would decide to do the group movie thing at the last minute…after it was determined that her crush really wasn’t going to call and ask. The ones who fell off the face of the earth when they got into a relationship.

I can’t help it though. From the moment he got here till the moment he left all I wanted to do was hang out with him and the kids. My keyboard got dusty and messages piled up. We fit eight months worth of family time into this visit and I’m officially exhausted…and there is a heckofalotta laundry to do now too. So, instead I decided to hop back up on this horse and try to blog a little – at least it will keep me from seeing some of his stray socks he left behind to wash for another couple of hours.

Right now, I can’t stop thinking about this family photo we tried to take while he was home. I tried to organize a family photo shoot for our Christmas cards. Pictured Christmas cards are like, the “thing” these days, right? I didn’t want to be left out, especially since he was actually home to do them. My friend is a great photographer and set aside some time for us. First go round Mr. Wonderful manages to hit himself with a power cord the morning of the shoot. He comes tearing in the house with blood running down his face and all I can think of is that he just doesn’t want to wear his dress shoes. He is left with a huge gash in the middle of his forehead which has no chance of healing within 3 hours or even 2 days. I was worried about the kids staying clean and I should have been watching Mr. Fix It and his (mis)use of electrical equipment. So, after some Neosporin and TLC he’s ok but the picture was put on hold.

Round 2 – it is 30 degrees out. And we are all snotty – either Mr. Wonderful brought some strange Asian flu back or the Petri dishes struck again. The bitter cold drove us inside to take pictures, which was good because Thing 1 had a chance to calm down once he found out we weren’t actually fishing like we told him to get him to walk down to the pond for “the perfect picture.” Once inside however, Thing 2 ran to the closet and wouldn’t come out. Thing 1 was definitely at home in front of the camera though. Mr. Wonderful, not so much. That man HATES being in front of a camera. Hates. It. Like more than he hates Terrell Owens (being the Eagles man that he is). As you can imagine, the ensuing hour was painful. Painful in a way that make me question how anyone sends those pictured cards. Are the kids drugged? Is the husband promised sexual favors? Because I have to tell you, I had to promise a few of my own to get him into a dress shirt and (gasp!) a matching sweater! The end result? Not one. NOT ONE SINGLE PICTURE of the four us looking into the camera at the same time. NOT ONE. I was heartbroken, frustrated, and mad at all three of the men in my life. Even the littlest one who probably deserved a break being that he is only 2.

All I wanted was the perfect picture. A picture to look at when Mr. Wonderful is gone and I can see how it is and should be. What it will be like when he comes back. A picture of our family, suspended in time. A picture that I can show off of my perfect little men with their perfect little faces that look so much like that man that I love. Is that too much to ask? As it turns out, it is a lot to ask for from 2 little boys and a man who hates cameras. We finally called it a day when it was obvious Thing 2 had hit his wall and nothing or no one was going to keep his lovely little Christmas sweater on him a moment more.

When I got the photos back, the best ones were those that weren’t even posed – one of me and Thing 2 where he was nuzzling me, one of Mr. Wonderful and I kissing Thing 1 when his face shows the delight of being the center of his parent’s universe, and another one of Mr. Wonderful looking up at Thing 1 with a look of such pride. Why I thought a canned photo of us all looking directly at the camera was somehow the “perfect” shot just seemed so silly all of the sudden. I tried so hard – matched the kids sweaters (which I used to make fun of but now can’t help myself) and coordinated mine and Mr. Wonderful’s sweaters. I put so much effort into making us seem perfect in a picture when the best pictures are of our faces. Because a photographer knows where the interest lies. Not in matching outfits but in emotions and expressions. And, I think she captured those beautifully. So maybe we’re not picture perfect but we’re definitely a perfect fit…and you can tell by the look on our faces in those pictures.