Because everybody likes a good dose of schadenfreude, I give you these snapshots of myself and my teenagers. And for this generous gift of catharsis, you're welcome. Here, but by the grace of God, go you. (The Filholms never really mind being a source of relief for others; we know our family is pretty odd and usually we're okay with it.)
Yesterday, we engineered a day of Forced Family Fun (in this post, I wrote about why we do so, even though it can be rough). Younger brother will be shipping off soon for his summer of big adventure (and hard work) in Alaska, so yesterday was a chance to be together before he departs.
It went pretty well, all things considered. We laughed and got along and mostly, everyone was kind to one another. But then I tried to get a quick snapshot of my boys and me. You know, because I love them? No matching outfits, no pinterest-worthy clever pose: I just wanted a casual, simple iPhone pic outside the danged restaurant.
But the minute we have the parental audacity to try for a family photo, our teenagers start mugging and fronting and flipping the bird. They take actual delight in preventing a good shot. Look at them, enjoying the heck out of themselves and ruining every single picture. It's how they do.
So next time you're feeling fed up with your own brood, just look here and remember: it could be worse. If you have kids who willingly pose with you, go ahead. Compare your family portraits to ours and enjoy the deep, human feeling of relief: your parenting may not be perfect, but there's always someone worse off than you. :-)
