Recently, school pictures were taken. These photos get sent home (if you ordered them), go in the school yearbook, and are put on your ID card. So you better not mess it up. But how is it that whenever Mom and Dad order the pictures and promise a copy to Grandma and Grandpa, you manage to do just that? It’s only when you get the pictures that you realize that you didn’t eat that donut, you wore it. And in retrospect, maybe you shouldn’t have played baseball in the rain in your school picture outfit. That could have been why the photographer was snickering. Of course, it’s these photos that end up on the mantelpiece and in holiday greetings cards.

And that’s just for your family. Then there’s your yearbook. If you screw up your picture, you’re in for some trouble, especially the seniors. Most seniors keep their graduation yearbooks. And then, 20 years later, you pull them out again, right before the reunion. “Ooh… did I really look like that? My god, it looks like they taped a bat to my face. Did they put in my Halloween picture by accident?”

If you screwed up last year’s school picture, you have it on your ID card all year long. Of course, everyone is mandated to carry their ID card around. When a teacher asks for your ID card, you find yourself nervously asking out loud, “Do I have to?”

Finally, there are family photos for the yearbook. I know what it’s like having an older sibling going through the system first. My sister was legendary. Even though she graduated 2 or 3 years ago, I still hear about her and am compared to her. I bet a ton of kids can sympathize with that, but at least no one ever confused me with her.

Anyway, I have an uncommon (but not one of a kind) situation. My mother is in the school system. I’m also in her class. That’s the one of a kind bit. So, I had my family photo taken with her. When I heard about the family photos, I asked my homeroom teacher, with my usual tact and tastefulness, “Does my mother count as my family?”

Nah, she just gave me half of my genes. Nothing big.

Well, that’s about it. I’ll have a new post soon.

Andy.