The Momma Papparazzi

 

 

 

 

 A picture is worth a thousand words,

 but the memories are priceless.

 

 

Our little momma cat had kittens about two weeks ago.

 

Sadly, only one of them survived.

 

She has become very protective over the little guy that she has left.

 

I often try and take pictures of them together,

because, well,

they are just too cute.

 

The momma cat literally hugs her kitten. All the time.
She holds him between her two arms and cups her paws around him.

 

It is just sooooo adorable!

 

I did get one picture of them together,

but it wasn't easy.

 

You see...she hates my iPhone.

 

Seems crazy right?

 

Each time I go to take a picture of them together as they are hugging and snuggling,

she literally reaches her paw out in front of me to block the camera,

 and then covers up the kitten with her body while hiding her face from me.

 

As to say,

"No pictures. This is our moment. Leave us alone."

Maybe she knows that she will only have her little guy in her arms for so long,
before he gets big enough to leave her side. 

Maybe this momma cat has it all figured out.

 

Maybe the little personal and special moments need to be just that...

personal and special.

 

I often think of this,
 and wonder...
 am I taking for granted those special moments with my kids and my family?

 

A while back we were at Lowe's looking for some stuff my husband needed

to complete a job around the house.

 

We had our two youngest with us and they were acting a little silly.

The older one was pushing the younger one in one of those race car buggies.

 

Their faces were priceless and full of joy,

so of course...

I whipped out my iPhone and said,

"Yah look here, let me get a picture."

 

My son, nine years old at the time, snaps back quickly and says,

"Why? So you can put it on Facebook? We're trying to have fun here, Mom."

 

Out of the mouth of babes, right?

Man! Did that response hit me right in the kisser.

 

I hadn't realized how much my social media hobby was affecting them.

 

It's like he was saying,

"No pictures. This is our moment. Leave us alone."

 

Since then,

I have done my best to back off posting so much of

our personal and special moments on Facebook or Instagram.

 

I do share some, from time to time,

but I try not to make their moments with me my main focus.

 

I want to definitely respect their privacy and keep those personal and special moments,

which are apparently very important to them as well,

to a minimum.

I want to do just as our momma cat does with her little one,
 protect them and their memories. 

It can't be easy for my (our) kids.

 

They live in an era of social media bombardment.

 

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Youtube...

not to mention their mom has her own blog.

 

Even though I want this blog to be a document of our journey as a family,

I have to remember...

that it's my document.

 

It's my choice to write about our journey, not theirs.

 

It makes me wonder sometimes, are we so busy trying to capture the moments of our lives,

that we don't really get to experience them?

Do we simply miss out on them trying to catch them?


Jim Elliot has a quote that says...

Wherever you are, be all there.

"Be" means to occupy a place or to exist.


How can we be all there, existing in the moment, if we are in our purse fumbling for our iPhone to capture the next exciting moment to share on Facebook?

Don't we actually end up missing the moment all together?
Or only getting part of it?

I have to be honest...
I've even made my kids reinact something they've done just so I can get it on my camera because I missed it the first time they did it.

Seriously?

And another thing...

what ever happened to the good old photo album?

 

I went through a few photo albums the other day as I was reminiscing on my husband's 40th birthday.

 

I really enjoyed looking at the old photos and it brought me back in time to special places we've experienced as a family.

My heart felt so full.

I have to say...
I do enjoy Facebook and all of my Instagram photos,
but they can't match up to those photo albums that sit on my shelf.

Do you know that I have an entire purse in my closet filled with film that was never developed?
Yeh...actual camera film. Not a disc, or a jump drive, but actual film!

I also have over 600 pictures on my iPhone that I'm proscrastinating to develop.
One wrong move or technical glitch on my phone and they could all get deleted!

Shame on me. Shame, shame, shame!

Those pictures could be safely tucked in a photo album somewhere.
I have vowed to myself to develop those pictures.
I've vowed to take more camera shots of my family
and then actually develop them and place them in new photo albums.

So when they want to look at pictures of our personal and special moments...
they will be just that.

They won't have to visit my Facebook or Instagram to see those moments.
They'll be right in front of them, in the privacy of our home.

Very personal and very special.

Who knows what the future may hold?

Who knows if social media will even exist in a few years?

But our memories,
our special moments together as a family,
the ones tucked away in my heart,
those will last forever.


I'm not saying that I am against social media all together,
or that I will never take another picture on my iPhone and share it.

I'm just going to find that healthy balance
 and take my family's feelings into consideration when I do.

I'm going to be more mindful.

I'm going to LIVE in the moments more,
instead of trying to capture them with my camera.

I'm only going to have my kids so close, for so long,
before they are old enough to leave home.

I want to be all there with them.

All there.
 

So,
you'll have to take my word for it on how stinkin' cute our new kitten is.

His hair stands up on his head like a little rock star.

Uuughhhh! So cute!

 

  

Tell me...
what are your feelings about social media?

Do we depend on it too much to capture and keep life's moments?

Please share your thoughts and opinion.

I'd love to know what you think.