What They See

Snow on little girls' faces:
Snow in little girls' hair:
So much snow, in fact, and wind, and chilliness, that instead of cleaning out the car in between picking up Willow from Montessori and heading off to my own classes tonight, we hung out inside and, for kicks, I taught the girls how to use my camera.

I never knew it would, but it was a blast to watch my girls joyfully wielding my camera, which is always such a joy to me. Watching Sydney fit my big, big camera to her little, little face and hands, carefully focus through the viewfinder, and snap photos of her Willow over and over, I wished that I had...well, a camera.

And let me tell you, the kids are naturals. We got lots of shots of toys, the filthy carpet, me looming overhead, the plant that needs watering, etc., but my favorites of these are the shots that each sister took of her sister. I was lonely as a child, and I envy their connection, I think. The camera is heavy, of course, so most of Sydney's photos point downward at her sister, showing sleeves too long and pants too short-- --but Willow, I think, captures in her photo what it means to be a small girl happy to be photographed by someone she loves very, very much:

We should all smile such smiles.