This is the Reason for All the Little Goodbyes With Our Kids

I’ve been saving for a long, long time. I’ve let small things go.  Towels on the floor. Dishes stacked up in bedrooms.  Saving and waiting for my cache to grow.  I had a goal.  I kept my eye on the prize.  And then I spent it.  All the guilt usually heaped upon teenagers was spent in one fell swoop.  I got all three kids and the dog to sit for a portrait. The dog incidentally needed no convincing, “Wanna go for a ride?” and he was in.

I haven’t made them sit for a portrait since they were to...