The quest for a selfie

Making the rounds on social media are several articles or blog posts about how mothers (and fathers) take hundreds of photos of their children, but often don't include themselves in the pictures.

Moms cited all sorts of reasons for not wanting to capture themselves in the family moments. Some said they didn't feel they looked pretty enough or were having a bad hair day. Some wished they weighed less or didn't want to be photographed in a swimsuit. 

A woman walking by as I was taking pictures of Sawyer on the beach stopped to ask if I wanted one of us together. I told her no but thanked her for offering. I had my big camera, and the early morning lighting was still challenging. I had on baggy pants and messy hair stuffed under a hat. Sawyer's patience after an hour of shooting was gone, and I have had few shots from "volunteer photographers" turn out. 

I did appreciate the offer. It's an offer I often make to people, too. 

I know she thought it was because I didn't want to be in the photo. Because then she got a little snippy and said I would regret not being in pictures when Sawyer was older. 

But I am not one of these moms. I would prefer not to be photographed in a swimsuit and I choose my battles when trying to get shots of us together, especially when Sawyer's patience is exhausted. But I am NOT going to miss out on being in pictures. 

Would I like to weigh less? 

Sure. 

Is my hair a mess when we're camping? 

Totally. 

Would it be easier to have a photographer follow us around instead of trying to take GOOD selfies with a squirming, not-looking-at-the-camera, uninterested-in-ANOTHER-take 4-year-old boy? 

100 percent. 

But since I'm not rich or famous enough to have a crew of photographers and makeup artists following us on vacations, I'm stuck trying to tame a wild child with one arm, hold my phone at arm's length AND perfectly still with the other arm all while looking and smiling beautifully into the tiny lens. 

Sometimes it's worth it to do things that aren't easy. And getting myself into the picture is one of those things. 

I want Sawyer to remember the places we went and that MAMA was the one who took him … the one who rode the Ferris wheel half a dozen times, the one who drove him to the beach for a weekend visit, the one who got completely on board for his love of trains. 

Only a handful of my childhood photos include my parents. No one had cellphone cameras. Selfies weren't a thing. Trying to hold a Polaroid camera at arm's length AND get a focused photo would've been practically impossible. But I cherish the photos I do have of me with my mom or dad. And I hope Sawyer will do the same with ours one day.

So I'll keep taking them. Good, bad and ugly. And I'll keep choosing the best one of BOTH of us to share. 

And maybe one day, we'll both be able to laugh at the ones that DIDN'T make the cut.