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Hi all!
Phew! I just posted another article… exercises at the playground. While it might look organized and harmless, my oh my, if you could have seen the behind-the-scenes chaos trying to snap those shots!
Luckily, I live right next to a park, so we had no trouble finding some swings to use. Son Tyler and his wife Anna accompanied me to help out with the photo shoot. Of course, that means grandbabies were in attendance, as well… Amelia, the 2-year-old and Eli, the newest (four weeks old).
Grandbaby Amelia: Push me, Mugga!
Anna, her mom, tried to help out by pushing the swing.
Amelia: Noooo! I want Mugga!
Me: Okay, Amelia! Let me finish trying to make this really hard exercise look super easy for the camera and I’ll be right there!!!
I’d run between Amelia’s swing and my exercises as quick as I could in an attempt to keep peace and harmony at the playground. Ahhh, the sweet sounds of a playground on a beautiful summer evening. Completely drowned out by newborn baby screams. My son Tyler stayed on Eli-duty while Anna played the role of Head Photographer. She got her own workout, running from this corner to that corner, trying to get the best angle.
Tyler: (through the Eli screams) Anna, don’t you think that’s enough shots of the pushups?
Anna: But I don’t want to get that stupid maintenance vehicle 100 yards away in the shot! Just let me take 10 more!
Amelia: (Wailing) Mugga, THERE’S WOOD CHIPS IN MY SHOE!!!
Mugga: Be right there, pumpkin, just let me do 50 more pushups so your camera-obsessed mother will be appeased!
In the end, Anna had taken 108 pictures of the playground workout. No, that wasn’t a typo. 108 shots for one little article showing some exercises on a swing. I’d like to take a moment and thank the inventors of digital photography. I’d be bankrupt if we were still developing photos at the corner One Hour Photo Booth. Thanks, Anna, for the awesome shots! (I think?)
Once I had the photos picked out that I wanted for the article, James took over. He spent hours cropping the photos together so they’d fit into the article. By the end, his mood pretty much matched Eli’s from the playground earlier. Fussy boys surround me today, folks.
But then!
Eli smiled at me for the first time at the playground. Isn’t that amazing?! Four week old Eli smiled at me in the middle of that tumultuous photo shoot, and that’s what I really sat down to tell you (I need to work on sticking to the point)! I have a lot of roles in my life, and I love them all. My favorite role? The one where I star as Mugga. There’s nothing in the world like being a Mugga. So, when you look at that playground article, imagine Eli off to the left of the camera smiling for the first time at his Mugga. I know that’s what I’ll always see whenever I look back at it. What a special, crazy day it’s been.
Now, go grab your own special little ones, find a playground, and try out my workout! And let me know how it goes… I’d love to hear from you!
