147. Picture Perfect

Every year, usually around Thanksgiving, we gather for our family Christmas photo. We go back and forth about where we're going to take the photo, in front of the fireplace? Outside by the pool? Lined up on the stairs like some cheesy Brady Bunch photo? What should we wear? The black and gray and void-of-any-color wardrobe most of us tend to wear every day? Or mix it up and throw in some accent colors with scarves or belts? Who should stand next to who? Arrange by height? By age?

As you can see, it's a pretty big production. But with all the commotion of my grandparents moving in and looking for the right nursing home for them, we didn't have time to take the photo this Thanksgiving. Know what that means? The Christmas photo was going to have to wait until Christmas. How convenient that Cayden would be here for that. No, not as the photographer.

We decided on our usual attire. In front of the Christmas tree. With Cayden by my side.



I can't even begin to explain how much it means to me that Cayden's a part of our family photo. That photo gets sent out to all of our friends and family, along with a Christmas letter I have yet to write. (I swear it's on my to-do list) How am I supposed to explain the random friendly giant to my right in less than a paragraph?

"Oh, this is some random guy Whitney met at a bar last year, hooked up with him, then a year later flew to London, he asked her out, she said yes, then she said no, then she said yes, then he flew here, and then he flew here again, and now he's here for Christmas!"

I'll have to work on that one. Or maybe I'll just send them the link to my blog...