Immediately transported to a time when the world looked different.
When the future seemed promising and certain.
I was looking through my iPhone for a picture of my friend, Tonia, and me to put on Facebook for her birthday.
It was then that I ran across this one of our sons and some of their soccer team with their moms.
I'm not really sure what the game was. I only remember that Tonia had to leave to go back to the pizza place and we decided to get an impromptu mother/son picture. So, Leo said he'd stand by me and I could be his 'fill-in' mom.
The importance of a picture.
A carefree moment.
Squinting into the sunshine, which was as bright as all of these young men's futures, we stood in a line arm-in-arm.
Watching these boys play over the years, there were many, many pictures taken. Moments saved on film.
I must have had someone take this on my phone and that's where it's remained all these years. It's one I won't remove. It's just going to stay right where it is.
When you scroll through your pictures, with each flick of your finger, you feel emotions as they fly by.
This one made me stop scrolling.
I touched the picture and made it bigger.
Zoomed in on Leo's face.
The slightly sideways glance, with scrunched eyes blinded by the suns glare, looked back at me.
I can almost imagine him telling whoever was taking the picture to, 'Hurry up,' so the boys could take off to wherever they were planning to go.
The importance of a picture.
I remember the day, that moment, that picture.
I remember how it felt to have his arm, and Brody's arm, linked in mine.
I remember the happiness.
It was normal. It's what we always felt when us mom's watched our boys play.
We were family then.
We are family now.
The importance of a picture.
It is what it is.
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