THREESOME FAMILY PHOTOS
The fall after my divorce, my friend Anne (also recently divorced) suggested that we have some new family photos made at a park near Columbia. She arranged for a photographer friend to meet us all there one Saturday morning for a photo shoot. It was a crisp sunny morning among the colorful fall trees. I had my new “single again” short haircut—and for one of the few times ever, Heather also had a short haircut.
The photographer treated us like celebrities, taking lots of time to pose us in a variety of settings. There were shots of us with our children, as well as some of each of us alone and of our children together. I remember seeing the proof sheet and finding it difficult to select a few of the best ones for enlargements.
That morning photo shoot was really affirming and healing. Seeing the resulting images gave me confidence somehow and confirmed that we three were after all a family unit. No one seemed to be missing.
A decade or more later, we had this Olan Mills photo made for the church directory. Again the motif was autumn—although this time a fake studio background instead of the trees at the park. The little ones were growing up—Heather with longer hair, me with the permed look and Patrick holding steady with the only type of haircut that controlled his cowlicks!
Over the years we have had many other photos taken of the three of us together especially at holidays and now taken with iPhone cameras. They both have wonderful families of their own now, but I never pass up a chance to have a picture made with them—and remember with love those years we were a daily threesome. This third photo was made in Nashville a few years ago when we all went out to dinner at Bricktops. It’s still us!
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