Tamara Like Camera

I feel very fortunate to have friends up here who know how to make me feel wanted. I was moping around the house Sunday after Thanksgiving, feeling very sorry for myself that my family had left and that my five day weekend was almost over, when I got an IM from my friend Rachel asking me to meet up at a local park. Since I really wanted to feel sorry for myself and stare out the window with a hangdog expression, I came up with every excuse in the book for why I might not go. And she was firm and assertive (not aggressive) and convinced me to bring Scarlet out to the park. And even better was that Cassidy wanted to come with. So we went for what might have been our last day at the park before we’re blanketed by a New England winter. I hadn’t taken Scarlet to the park in several months.

A beautiful wonderland awaited us in Look Park, Florence.

Scarlet was so afraid of the swings that not only did she cry when she was put in the baby swing and when Cassidy swung her on his lap on the adult swing, she also cried just seeing me swing from a distance. She didn’t want to do anything on the playground. Cassidy patiently held her while I took distorted self portraits in the weird playground mirror. This really entertained me for awhile:

Then we put Scarlet on the ground and decided to let her take control for the first time ever outdoors, outside of our yard. I rarely remember to put shoes on her. My only previous experience with letting her roam free had been one time at Old Navy and then Famous Footwear and I would blink and she wouldn’t be there anymore and I’d catch a glimpse of Pink Monkey in a mirror at the other end of the store. But this time there were two of us and she was obviously not into the swings or slides. Once on the ground, she hesitated for only a second…

Then it was adventuring time:

At the pond, she shouted “Baba!” for all of the duckies. I guess they don’t have to be yellow and made of rubber to be classified as such.

These next three photos are honestly her reactions to realizing that there were ducks in the pond. It was a series of wonder to her, and hilarity to us:

Next she posed by the pond for me so I could take pictures of this beautiful goddess:

That last one was my initial favorite on the small screen of my camera. I didn’t realize it would be slightly blurry. I still love it, though.

Cassidy and Scarlet took some time to take in the view, and I took some time to take in the view of them:

The water was trying to be frozen. I can’t believe December is here:

Afterward, Scarlet tried to chase some runners. She failed.

We were joined by friends and I unfortunately don’t have photos of that. Scarlet wasn’t brave enough to go down the slide like her friends but she was brave enough to watch Pink Monkey go down the slide.

Soon we were cold and wanted warm meals so it was time to go. Look Park is a beautiful place to go. I’ll never forget the sight of Scarlet and Pink Monkey making their way through the park, thinking they were the ones in control. I decided to let them think that. Taking your child to the park is so simply wonderful.

Taking pictures of Scarlet is one of the single most grounding actions I can take in life. It calms my racing heart and slows my rapid breaths every time. It’s like I was made to do this. What astonishes me always is the expressions I catch in photographs that are so blink and you’ll miss it that I rarely see them in person. She’s a very happy and mellow child. She’s constantly laughing and telling us and herself jokes. She’s also constantly chattering happily to her stuffed animals. I think she talks about us to them. I heard her use “cookie” in a sentence to Pink Monkey the other day. She adorably dances when I say, “Dance, dance!” She wolf whistles around the house on command. She never complains. Very full diaper, outside in cold weather turning the rest of us practically frostbitten? Hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Teething? She doesn’t complain. She’s a very happy soul.

It’s in pictures that I see her more serious side develop. These pictures are what shows me another side of the person she’s turning into and who she’ll someday be. And I like it. A lot.