December 16
It’s been fun each day as I post the new photo to look back through my DPP photos from past years. It’s so interesting to me to see what has changed and what really hasn’t. We do a lot of the same things from year to year — make cookies, play in the park on unseasonably warm days, try potty training, build gingerbread houses, take naps. And I’m finding that when I’m looking for subjects for the DPP, it’s sometimes tempting, whether consciously or unconsciously, to try to recreate a photo from the past.
This weekend, the boys helped my parents decorate their Christmas tree, and, of course, Clara was fascinated with it (especially the low-hanging ornaments, courtesy of Ian). I remembered the photo I took of Ian gazing at my parents’ tree two years ago and shot probably fifteen or twenty frames trying to catch Clara in a similar pose or with a similar expression. But then I stopped. I realized I was trying to force a moment that just wasn’t going to happen. And, really, as cool as it could be, in theory, to have the “same” picture year after year, I don’t think it really counts unless it happens naturally.
