It's School Picture Day!
Say "Cheese!"
Today was school picture day! As the day approached the school picture day haircuts began to appear; it's fun to watch the boys push and smooth their hair down, almost as if they were trying to stretch it back to the little bit longer length it had been before mom realized pictures were around the corner. The girls don't usually go the haircut way, but on the day of the pictures, it's usually the freshly made and sprayed curls or this year braids seemed to be the style of choice.
The outfit is the next important ingredient to the perfect school day picture. With boys it's the decision of tie or no tie; jacket or vest; or at one time it was collared shirt or t-shirt or turtleneck. Girls the decision is fancy or plain, hair adornment or not, or it was how much frilly is enough, or remember those big peter pan collars? Decisions, decisions, unless of course you are at a school where uniforms are the fashion, then the choice is much easier! Teachers don't wear uniforms so I had the task of picking that just right outfit. As I got ready this morning my thoughts weren't so much on what I was wearing today or my recently cut hair; but instead went back to the time of school day pictures when I was still the student.
The kindergarten picture with the banana curls and plastic headband. The first grade year my mom thought putting the curls on top of my head would be a nice variation and then the fifth grade year when she decided I should cut the curls and go with the latest shag haircut!! A haircut to produce a new hair style just days before a picture is risky business. When I look back at those pictures and through the years following; some of them give me that, "what were you thinking" response, but I have to remember at the time, it was the cool or popular style. In fact, other than hair color, glasses or no glasses, short or tall, round or heart shaped face, we all ended up looking pretty much the same.
Can you remember your school picture days? Were you that kid with the tight mouthed smile hiding the tinsel that adorned your teeth? The one who took out ribbons, barrettes, or even combed out curls and when you took your picture home, mom gave you that what did you do look. What about the high school years, and that nice red bump that grew overnight right in the middle of your forehead while you slept on school picture eve?
Don't forget the coveted souvenir from picture day; the little black plastic comb! Although the photographers don't make them as readily available anymore, it's more of an out of sight out of mind trinket now. You know, if you ask they magically appear, but if you don't see them you don't think of it. I believe that they became scarce when moms pleaded, "please, don't give our children free little black plastic combs to use to undo the hairstyle I gave them this morning and gelled and sprayed to keep it in place to have those tiny thin teeth run through it and send it in all different directions!".
Finally the delivery day arrived and you couldn't wait to get your packet. Until, oh no, there it was in all its 8 x 10 full color glory...that hairstyle that some day you'll look at and think, how was that ever popular, or you see you took off your glasses in the picture and it doesn't even look like you, or oh no what is that flare of glare in the middle of my mouth, oh no that photographer tricked me into a little smile and my braces are slightly showing, and to my chagrin shining! Then there were the little, what were they 2x3, if that. You know the ones you hoped you had enough of to sign and share with your friends. The trade of I won't show anybody else if you promise not to show mine to anybody; that ultimate friend promise of the school picture exchange!
Then there was the class picture; you know the one where you stood on your tiptoes to be considered the tallest so you could be in the back row. Standing next to your friends you did the slope comparison of height where you start on the top of your head but as you approach theirs your hand goes up at an angle and tada, you're magically taller than them! As the teacher I will have a set place in the picture so I don't really have to worry about being tallest, because believe me it is a stretch with my class, so instead I make heels part of my picture outfit to stand a few inches above them; and then I pray that everyone is smiling, no one has closed eyes, or is sticking out their tongue! As the camera snaps a few times, I think here we are preserved in time and when we look at this picture at the end of the year we will marvel at how young the children look and how much time has passed since that day in front of the camera; and I hope that they will pull this picture out of a box or flip to it in an album, years from now, and remember the year and all the memories we made!
Whatever your school pictures look like, the laughs and eyerolls they might evoke when you look at them now; think past that snap moment in time, and remember that year, that teacher, those classmates and all that went into that smile. School pictures, as silly as they might seem when you are grown up and looking at them, are bound to bring back a flood of memories!
Why not have some fun during this annual time of year, school picture time, and take a selfie as if you were posing for that school portrait? What will your smile say? What will you remember of the day or week or time of your life when you took that picture? Whatever the picture will say to you years from now, just remember to point the camera and say, "cheese!".