My Sunset Photo Session Part I

My photography obession has grown exponentially, and to avoid incessant eyerolling from my own progeny, I have resorted to asking my friends to bring over their children and families to photograph. With the holiday card sending season just around the corner, I've easily taken advantage of my procrastinaor friends. It's a win win siutuation, except for the children who are less easily duped.

So my friend Melissa, who I've known since we were 11, brought her 2 accomidating kids over. Melissa is one of my very best friends and one of the smartest people I know. We're from the same small town and went to the same small elementary school, jr high, and then high school. Melissa was the first in a long line of "maddona-wanna-be's" when that kinda of thing was cool. She was the first to wear her bra on the outside to school and wore a wedding dress to a concert. And eventually she married my first boyfriend but that might be a whole nother post. I told you it was a small town, right?

And by the way, it is kinda awkward explaining to friends that I only dated two men, really boys at the time. The one I married and the one she married. But really, who needs all the sorted details!

Everyone needs a friend like Melissa. See those gorgeous dark deep-set Italian eyes? They'll look you strainght in the face and tell you your full of crappola... if you are. I LOVE that about her! If you're slightly exaggerating a story about the hardships of your youth, she call you on it right there in front of everyone.

• "You did NOT walk up hill, barefoot, in the snow, both ways to and from school everyday! You're dad owned a VW bus and drove you to school EVERY single day. I was there."
• "God is not a republican!"
• "Shoulder pads went out over a decade ago. I don't care if they make your waist look smaller.  Take that off!"
• "You were a band geek so just accept it.  You played the flute and marched in the band and wore that awful furry q-tip hat and everything."

She's the one I want as my friend when my vision goes bad to tell me that my nostril hair needs to be trimmed, or to pluck that hair growing out of my mole. She'll do it. She was the person that held me tight in church that day and looked me dead in the eye and suggested I get some counseling when things were so rough, and I couldn't get past it. I did. She was right.

Here's her son T who obviously got her gorgeous dark features.

But M got her wonderful eyes!

And of course those fantastic chicklettes! Aren't chickettes the best?! Marking a season in life when there are few worries and such promise. Melissa says they are starting to bother her.  You're beautiful M!

To be continued tomorrow in Part II