Unplugged

I took this picture after frantically rooting for the camera to capture Abbey and Dylan laughing at each other. Needless to say, by the time I turned on the camera, the moment had passed. Wheels started whirling in this head of mine, and I am now wondering if we (oh, the power of the collective we) are doing ourselves a disservice by chronicling every moment of our lives?

Don’t get me wrong. I am a genuine Facebook status update junkie, and I am jumping (albeit a little late) onto the Twitter bandwagon; I love reading (and writing my) blogs, and some of my favorite blogs are photo blogs. My laptop is clogged with hundreds of pictures of the kids, and I use e-mail and other social networks to communicate with most of my friends. With two kids I find myself texting rather than calling, because Abbey turns into a clingy mess whenever she sees the phone hovering near my ear.

Still, as I think about the moment I saw Dylan begin to laugh, I wish my first instinct would’ve been to savor the moment instead of lunging for a camera. They are both changing so much each day, and I have this urge to get every new look and every silly smile on film for posterity, but I need to step back and let their sweetness just sink in sometimes. I’m their mommy, not a hired photographer, and I want them to experience me in the midst of their memories, not as someone behind a camera.

There may be fewer pictures on the blog in the upcoming days, until I figure out how to sneak my camera onto the floor without having it covered in Dylan-drool within moments. Hopefully, though, I will have even more authentic stories and thoughts to share as I drink in even more of their precious selves.

(This newfound in-the-moment revelation doesn’t stop me from coveting a hooked-up phone with a great media package, however!)