"Put Phoebe in the Car"

Am I the only person who wants the inside scoop on what really happened the day that beautiful family photo was snapped? The one you got in the mail from your friends at Christmas? I mean, no family is that perfect, right? Well, here's the background on our family photo that you received from us this Christmas...

First off, we have NEVER had a family photo professionally taken by anyone of either of our children or as a family for that matter. Now, we got lucky and have friends (Kelle) and family (Brian) who have cameras with lots of parts (that's Katie-speak for "swanky camera"), so they've occasionally snapped pics of our clan successfully. Enter Tobi. A photography-savvy friend of a friend who graciously offered to take our picture this fall with her swanky camera at a cute outdoor venue. Tobi also specializes in having excessive levels of patience...

I asked Jeffrey if we could have Tobi take our picture and the day finally arrived. Here are some sound bytes from the 10 minutes before we left the house:

Jeffrey to Ethan: "Quit crying and get dressed. We are doing this for mommy. Do this!"

Me to Ethan: "Put the clothes on and be happy about it."

Both of us to (slowly moving) Emily: "We HAVE to go!"

Me to myself: "I hate my clothes and my face and my shoes and my..." (it was a bad day)

Jeffrey and I to each other: lots of sighs, eye-rolling, and snippity-snip-snipping.

Me to Jeffrey: "Put Phoebe in the car."

Now, to understand how "off" this comment was, you have to know Phoebe. Her basic description at the time would be as follows:

Eleven year old lab/pit ("plab," if you will) who enjoys quiet walks 5 ft. down the road and back home. Arthritic and sleepy, but available for meals and mild play-time and binge-eating treats given to her by the 3 year old of the house (aka, her bestie). She enjoys warm baths and loooooong naps but do not touch her paws under any circumstances. None. Never. Loves car rides, especially through a drive-thru where French fries are either dropped on accident or given to her on purpose. Lover of steak (duh) and popcorn and a lab mix named Zuko (swoon). Obsessed with Paw Paw and his truck (see French fry sentence above). Allergic to things like grass and weeds and air, which makes summer in the south super fun for her. If she sees water, then she must enter it ASAP. Temperature and time of year are not factors in whether or not she enters the water. Moth to a flame, people.

To get Phoebe in the car takes approximately 8 years. Call her from the basement. Bribe her with treats. Cheer her up the stairs and out the door. Pick her up and put her in the back of the SUV (she prefers the front seat).

We were all yelling at each other. Merry Christmas.

But, looking back, I'm so glad we had that day. All the yelling (all of us), trying on 5 different shirts (me), wondering what the point was to all this (Jeffrey), more yelling (Ethan and Emily), and more wondering what the point was to all this (Phoebe) - all of that was pretty much worth it. Because when I said goodbye to Phoebe this past week (1-15-15), I instantly thought of those pictures. Me with her, her with our family, her with each of our kids. She had a place in this family. She had a role in our lives. She got me from single girl...to married...to momma and I hope she closed those sweet eyes on that sweet gray face, knowing she helped get me here.

I love you, sweet Phoebe...good girl.

 

Phoebe

8.29.03 - 1.15.15