Early Easter Pics

I am committed to trying to get a family picture once every six months, roughly Christmas & Easter.  Remember, I am a recovering historian.  And what I studied is photographs.  And what they say about us.  Or what they say about what we are trying to say about ourselves.  So, I try to get evidence that we are still around, and that I am still hopelessly in love with dressing up my family in seasonally appropriate matchy matchy outfits 2x a year (this is all Derek will tolerate).  Oh, and the Halloween photos, but those are in a genre all of their own.

All of a sudden, our "Easter" was upon us.  The choir at church did their Easter number in church today, and Derek sang with them.  So, since Derek had the day off, this was it.  The day we would all be together.  I found the boys' ties first.  Then, I found the girls' dresses at Burlington.  Geniously matchy matchy.  But I found nothing for myself.  So this is a year with pics where mom is behind the camera, and ok about that.

When I apply my historian brain to these photos, I come up with some funny conclusions.  

What I hope these pictures say: Wow, that mom is amazing for being able to get those matchy matchy outfits together and get everyone in one place smiling (mostly) and standing still (mostly).  

What they probably say:  Wow, that mom is kind of insane and has way too much time and money to throw away in finding and acquiring matchy matchy outfits.  She probably felt an immense amount of social pressure to find and buy her kids those outfits to fit in with social norms at church and school.  (Reality, we live in a mostly "thrift-store-clothes-wearing because we want to" ward and school.  So, I buy this stuff because I want to, not because people would judge me if I didn't.)  

But here is the most important thing to me...What I hope my kids will see in 20 years when they look at these pictures:  My mom loved us enough to try to help us look our best and feel connected as a family.  We all belonged together because we matched.  In more ways than just our clothes.  That is what I see when I look at the pics of me and my siblings in our  matchy outfits from 30 years ago. 

This is me (Tricia), Rachel and David in 1980.  I think that these were probably our Easter Dresses!

 

What Ben is saying as I type?  "Mom, Libby is drawing on her face with a marker!"  What I am thinking?  At least the picture was earlier today.  And I yell over my shoulder without looking, "Libby, stop writing on  yourself."

The other bit of reality is that I love my kids so much it hurts and nothing is better than seeing them looking and feeling their very best!  It is worth a bit of shopping to make that happen.  (My mom did actual sewing to make that happen!)