corona holiday card
* i am reposting this story about shooting our holiday card at the beginning of the pandemic (i can’t believe we are STILL in the thick of this mess!) because we have spent the last few days writing our cards… my kids LOVE spending their break doing this task. some of them we accidentally wrote upside down, which i think is appropriate because 2020 has been that kind of a shit fuck upside down year. i WILL say theo is not best pleased about this photo now because he does not like to be reminded of his corona hair - he has gotten a few cuts since this picture was taken. i like to think of myself as a loving mama who takes her children’s feelings into account, but by the time he voiced his opinion the cards were already ordered and my bandwidth and “cheese” were at a minimum so he got a big “BASTA” instead. if you run into him around town, please don’t bring up his hair! HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! x0x0x
as if a global pandemic and quarantine and the whole country feeling like the apocalypse isn’t stressful enough, today i made my children pose for the holiday card… (our poppies are in FULL bloom and i couldn’t help myself.) they always look so forward to this photo shoot and were absolutely GRATEFUL that i suggested it (i’m a thoughtful, FUN mama like that.) i DID have to use the full force of my diminishing strength (since i can’t go to my bar method classes) to pull my son off the sofa and detach him from the Xbox and i didn’t even try to get him to change out of his corona comfort clothes (no one really knows how many days he’s been in them) - i just matched lucy’s outfit to his - but i could tell by the warm snarl on his face that he was thrilled. i ALSO had to promise them dunkin’ donuts AND frozen custard from the good times drive thru which is a much richer offer than i usually extend, but i really didn’t want to miss the poppies.
(we got the classic dozen from the drive thru - i LOVE a drive thru!)
(the good times frozen custard is a lot like soft serve)
unfortunately, my kids were serendipitously photographed last year by the amazing george lange and they have even less appreciation for my photographic approach (namely threats and bribes) than they did before. “GEORGE didn’t do it like this, mama… he is a REAL photographer and you are NOT good at this.” it’s true… george took terrific photos of them in a matter of minutes and he did not make either of them cry, but he has moved to pittsburgh and i imagine he is sheltering in place and so he is not available. alas.
(theo and lucy by the incredible george lange)
so we spent a lovely, LONG afternoon (i can never get a good one in MINUTES like george) in the front yard (what ELSE is there to do during corona?) i wanted to share some of the rejects (so many “earls,” yawns, tears and violence) so when you receive our card in december you will know it was hard won. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! x0x
(earl hickey of “my name is earl” who famously closes his eyes in every photo, even his mugshot)
(theo “earl” #1)
(theo AND hank “earl”)
(hank “earls”)
(theo “earl” #3 and hank yawns)
(lucy needling, theo hitting, hank anxious)
(lucy “earls” and is that the middle finger?)
(lucy crying, theo laughing, hank creeping away)