Picture This

I know tons of people that have blogs. They sit down to their computer to discuss topics that vary from absolutely hysterical to an array of emotions that can bring readers to tears. I have thought about the idea of writing a blog for quite some time now, but I never really knew just what I would talk about.

I am sitting in my office at work looking around and thinking about a topic that I could discuss: some profound idea that will entertain the readers, and I'm thinking to myself, "Face it, Rebekah. You are not a profound person. You are simple. You entertain yourself more than you do others."

With that, I have decided that I will just create a blog that I post on random thoughts, feelings, or ideas. I am not a writer. I tend to blab on about random thoughts more than I do a particular subject. At this point, I have already written most of this post, but I have come back up to the top to put in this "disclaimer", if you will, that I'm a blabber... I'm not necessarily certain that I am good at this whole "blogging" thing. If you ask Rusty, he claims that he is the only reason that I passed Composition I in college, but I beg to differ.

For my very first blog ever, I will talk about....hmmm...pictures....

The word "picture" is defined as:

pic·ture - [pik-cher]
–noun
1. a visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, photograph, etc.: I carry a picture of my grandchild in my wallet.
2. any visible image, however produced: pictures reflected in a pool of water.
3. a mental image: a clear picture of how he had looked that day.
4. a particular image or reality as portrayed in an account or description; depiction; version.

I define a picture as a single instance. A moment. Less than a moment, for that matter of a time or a place or a thing or a person that touches your soul. It sticks with you throughout your lifetime, and that you remember every aspect of the moment.

I have tried to take pictures of the kids that portray them the way that I see them. I am rarely successful. I have tried to capture images such as flowers, birds, or sunsets that, in that moment, are breathtakingly beautiful, but no matter how many angles I use, no matter how many times I change the settings on the camera, it NEVER captures the moment like I see it or feel it.

I have images of memories in my head. For instance, I remember the way my summer camp counselor looked as I said good-bye. I remember the way the steam would come out of the smoke stacks of the electrical plant in my hometown. I remember the way that my daughter looked when she was born. These are things that I will always remember, but a picture would NEVER duplicate the exact memory that I have. Yes, it would help remind me of those things, but it would never be the same.

Pictures have been known to completely replace words.

For example: A smiley face. A smiley face automatically tells you that whatever the situation is, it is a good thing. Happy. Content. Good. A smiley face gives you the feeling that everything is or is going to be all right. A child in 2nd grade can get a smiley face sticker on a test because they received a good grade. But then, sometimes, it can be placed on a t-shirt and worn by a teenager who may or may not be smiling at all. Sometimes it is altered to give the person a little bit more of an idea of what the expression means such as sarcasm or silliness.

There are several ways that this blog could go from here, but I'm trying to minimize my blabbing. I look around my office and see pictures of my family and friends. In recent years, I have realized that my family is priority number one. I used to be so focused on work and school. Yes, being successful at work and finishing school have been a vital part of our family's success, but there comes a time when leaving work at work is crucial.

I look up from my computer screen to my picture wall. There are pictures of the kids (of course, they are the best of the best pictures). I pick the pictures that I feel capture the kids the best to put in my office. Naturally, they never truly meet my expectations, but they are close. There is one of Sammy that just kills me. Rusty is pushing Sam in the swing. You can see Rusty's smile as he pushes Sam, and the close up of Sam has him grinning from ear to ear. This is my boy. He is constantly smiling (even when he is eating...he eats ALL THE TIME). The picture successfully captured Sammy's smile, but it didn't capture all of the other emotions that go along with that day. What you can't see is that he is chuckling as he goes back towards Rusty and cackling as he comes towards the camera. You can't feel the breeze of that cool fall day. You can't smell nature.

There are pictures that Joey (my nephew) took last weekend of him and the kids. Sam and Rachel just love Joey. I think that it took Sammy nearly a year to even LOOK at Joey without crying (we think that it was his goatee), but now, it seems that Joey is his favorite more often than not. A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. I think it should be more than that. I completely understand that its a "phrase", but c'mon. Just describing the events that lead up to the actual picture's outcome would take more than a thousand words all on its own. In these pictures that were taken with the kids and Joey, it looks like they are just playing around, being silly...which, don't get me wrong, they were. But, what you don't see is Joey's aggravation because this was about the 10th time of taking the picture to get it "just right". You also don't see that my house is a complete mess, nor do you see that Rachel and Beth are sitting idly by, waiting for their turn to have pictures taken.

What I don't get is why people put incriminating pictures of themselves on the Internet. For some reason, I guess, they don't understand that people are always watching you whether it be a potential employer, an incorrigible teenager, or a stalker. Society these days is not safe. I guess I kind of contradict myself with this statement as here I am on the Internet. Oh well, we all can't live in a shell and depend on a single picture to tell our story or the story of the world around us.

The one thing that we CAN depend on? Even though our pictures don't exactly catch the images that we feel, we can be reminded of that time of our lives and how special they were.