Who Doesn't Take Pictures on Halloween?

A few years ago, while in my freshman and sophomore years of college, I wanted to find a side job to help pay some expenses.  I had started to gain an interest in photography, and had taken pictures for people for quite a while - for free.  My father-in-law had given me a very fancy camera, and so I had the genius idea to do some photography work.  It went very well.  I did a couple of weddings, family shoots, engagement photos, maternity photos, sport team shoots, and even made posters and album art for a couple of local bands.  Taking pictures was a hobby - and it was an added bonus that I could make a few bucks doing it.

Once I started getting in to my junior year, the demands of school started weighing on me - and I was no longer able to keep up with the time demands it took to edit photos.  So, my side photography job was over.

What I've discovered about myself since then is that I just don't have the love for photography anymore.  I mean, I have a great camera right on my cell phone - but I hardly ever use it.  When I do snap some photos, I leave them stored on a "cloud" in cyberspace or on my phone...and occasionally I'll share on Facebook.

Yesterday morning, while sitting here doing what I'm doing now, I had this horrible thought about what would happen if my laptop broke down.  All of my pictures that I've taken over the past couple of years are stored on here.  The pictures of my children, of me, of my classes.  It made me realize that I need to get my pictures to a safer place...and maybe print out a few so that I have some actual photos of my family.

I have many Halloween pictures of my kids.  It's just something I do. Before heading out to Trick or Treat or before heading to school (when they were allowed to dress up for school) I'd snap a quick pic to put away for a future date when I needed to be reminded of what my kids dressed up as for Halloween.

I had that intention yesterday.  Not just for my kids, but for me too.  I looked great in my costume.. but even better when paired with my two counterparts.  We were the Three Blind Mice - and we looked AWESOME!  We had ears, tails, different colored sweat pants and shirts.  I was the brown mouse, another teacher was a white mouse, and the other a gray mouse.  We even had canes made from old tent posts. 

The kids looked great, too.  Peanut was a she-devil, Butter was a punk rocker (complete with mohawk wig and tattoo sleeve) and Jelly was a pink crayon.  They all looked so cute.  I didn't actually get a chance to see Jelly in her costume, in person, because she dressed up at school and was out of her costume when I got there to pick her up.  I did get to see a picture from a parent that I work with who was able to go to the preschool's Halloween party.  And Jelly was super adorable in her crayon costume.

Don't ask me why, but I don't have a single photo to share with you.  I don't know what crept in to my head and made me forget to get pictures of such an important day as Halloween... but I did.  I got so caught up with the festivities that were happening at school that I totally forgot to take pictures of any of it.  And now I'm completely bummed about it and know that I can't get that day back to get the pictures I need or want. 

What kind of mother am I that I don't capture a day like Halloween to torment my children with when they are grown and dating or married with kids of their own?

It made me so sad to be on Facebook last night thumbing through the many pictures of cute kids all dressed up in their costumes.  I wanted to be able to do that with my kids.

What's even worse is that I didn't take them Trick or Treating.  I could have totally got some pictures when I went out to do that... but I was just too tired.  Don't feel too bad for my kids about that, though.  Peanut and Butter got to have a great time at school with parties and parades and dances.  OK, so they didn't bring home tons of candy - but they had a lot of fun.  Jelly brought home a tote bag full of stuff.  She'll have candy that will last her awhile... which was the ultimate deciding factor in whether I should take them out.  Apparently she had done just fine at school - and did not need to add to her load of sweets and goodies.

My day had consisted of walking downtown with my class and 400 other students.  The walk lasted about an hour.  Then, it was back to teach for an hour and then off to lunch.  After lunch, I had recess duty.  After lunch, my kids went to art class while I went to the gym to help decorate for the junior high dance.  Once the dance started, I got to spend 45 minutes shaking my tail feather with the 7th and 8th grade students.  Finally, a very sweaty, sore and tired me took my kids back to our classroom to finish up the day with junk food and a movie.  When I got home last night, it took all of 5 minutes for me to fall asleep on the couch.  Literally.

So, yeah, I'm bummed that I don't have any pictures - but it really was a great day.  I feel so blessed to work in a school that allows their children (and teachers) to have so much fun.  I even teared up just a little during the dance when I noticed the principal out on the dance floor making a total fool of herself and having a great time.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  She is actually a really good dancer - and she even showed me a few moves.  The making a fool of herself part was me simply stating that it didn't matter to her that she was the principal - she was going to get out there and have a great time and show those kids what it meant to have a great time.  I totally teared up because that's when it really and truly hit me that I couldn't work at a better school that fits me anymore than my school does. 

All I know is that I learned my lesson and I will NOT be forgetting to take pictures of events like this ever again.  And, now that the holiday season will be in full swing in the next couple of weeks - there will be TONS of photo opportunities.