I have thousands of ridiculous pictures on my phone. I haven’t taken many selfies lately. I’ve felt too chubby, too old looking, not enough makeup or too much makeup. Feelings and emotions too rough on my face. I take a million pictures of other things. The kids, the scenery, food, books. 

I think when you’re really missing someone or feeling nostalgic for a certain feeling, pictures can transport you there. We are staying in an air bnb with a sign that says ‘no selfies in the bathroom’. I’m sure it’s supposed to be funny or poke fun at today’s obsession with posed, ‘get ready with me’ or ‘ootd’ pictures, but it hit me that hey, it’s okay if someone is feeling proud of where they are enough to snap a picture, let people have things. 

My favorite pictures are the ones in the moment, the in the middle of messy life photos that are hard to recreate. I wish I had more of those. It’s hard to ask for, harder to capture when you’re feeling self conscious or down. Worth it when you look back and can be transported to a time when things are equally messy and beautiful. 

So take the picture, definitely when there’s a sign telling you not to, and especially when it’s chaos.