Yes, yes this is nearly shameless pandering. I've entered an online contest to win this* I've already told you the sad tale of the suicidal memory card and how they, the creators of that memory card, no longer make that type of card. This means that it's only a matter of time before my trusty, but old, digital camera gives up the ghost. Well, Kristen over at Mommy Needs A Cocktail has spun off a new blog, Mommy Needs A Review, and to celebrate she is giving away this brand-new-takes-the-new-kind-of-memory-card camera. I'm excited. I'm actually kind of high from winning her maternity shirt slogan contest and I thought I'd try my luck at this. It's simple really. I just have to tell you all about the time I wish I had a camera handy and the photo that got away.
There are actually many, many times in my life when I could kick myself for not having a camera handy. Then there are the times I took the photo and it didn't come out but I didn't know that until four days later when the film developed and my finger was in the way or someone's big head, or the subject was looking the wrong way. I was thinking of telling you about my brother, Tom's, wedding. He lives in Georgia and we all drove down to watch him marry Carol because I had to see that with my own eyes. The ceremony was lovely, Carol was lovely and I shot two rolls of film just at the ceremony and the reception. We come back to New York, I drop off all the used rolls of film and the razzafrackin developer lost the roll of photos from the church. I have one photo from the church on the roll from the reception, so there is proof that she did actually marry my brother, God help her, but my son doing a reading is gone; my husband and two brothers in their tuxedos that's gone too. But the I-wish-I-had-a-picture-of-that story that I like best is the story of my son's first, and only, Mall Santa picture.
This is the photo that I was guilted into buying after what happened next. Dorothy, the cute little blond girl on the left there, wanted to see Santa. I had taken her to the mall for something completely different not realizing that it was 'Sit on Santa' season and when she saw him it was all she could talk about. I don't normally go for this but the line was short and she was annoying me so, I let her go. Santa insisted on both kids. I realized, almost right away, that they were selling photo packages of the kids with Santa. The elves were a bit pushy about it, too. It was something I didn't want and couldn't really afford at the time. I was just doing this to make almost three-year-old Dorothy happy.
As you can see my son was a big kid. He's only six months old in this photo, I swear. He's also not smiling because he wasn't really happy about the whole Santa thing. Being six months old I don't think he understood what was going on. In my defense, Santa brought this on himself. Dennis, in this photo, is in the process of trying to get off of Santa and after this shot was taken, Santa hoisted Dennis up a bit more. Not liking the feeling, Dennis reached out to grab onto something, anything and got a fistful of beard. And yes, he pulled. That's the photo I wish I had: the agitated, half de-bearded, pushy Mall Santa. Of course, I ran up and grabbed my children and left Santa to compose himself. I bought the above wallet size photo in a key chain. I felt kind of obliged. When the elf handed me my change I handed her the clump of beard I pried out of Dennis' hand.
*for some reason I can't get the link to work for this so here is the whole thing:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2007/digphoto/images/m447.jpg
