Sometimes the mundane is the best part of life. The mechanics of getting up, morning snuggles, afternoon naps and evening rhythms are worth celbrating. These are the memories you have of your childhood. The way mom combed your hair or when your dad cooking dinner. Seems strange how little we pay attention to something that builds the memories our children will have.

"You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce." - Tony Gaskins

I used to snuggle with my dad well into my teen years. I never thought it was strange. I also talked to my mom about intimacy pretty openly. It wasn't until I was older, maybe sometime in college, that I realized that not everyone can be that close with their parent(s). 

Don't forget to kiss, hold, and love your kids. My spouse won't even let me hold her like my kids will. They lay, cry, laugh, snot and giggle without boundaries. It may not last until forever, but I hope that they wake up one day and wonder why everyone isn't as close with their parents as we are.

By photographing the great spectrum of emotions, you can help your kids understand why you look so fondly on their childhood. Family photographs should be about the relational quality, then, if you have time and energy, you can care about the technical quality.

"In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips." - Somewhere on Pintrest. 

Rather than keep all of your memories in a box at the back of the closet, break out your high school, college and work retreat memories and share them with your children. Not all stories (or life lessons) need to be written by someone else.

For a photographer, my walls are sparse. I have some frames hanging, that do not even have photos in them.

I hung these in our children's room so that they would always know that aside from of all the things I mean to remember, I actually remember them.