A Photo from the Past (on Facebook)

My first thought when my friend posted this 25-year-old photo of my son and me on Facebook was, Oh!  Look at my sweet little baby boy.  Wasn’t he just the cutest toddler ever?  I remember those days so well, when I could still hold him in my arms.

And look how stylin’ he was, with his adorable little red, white and blue short set, with matching blue shoes and red and white socks!  I probably didn’t actually purchase these items, as he was routinely showered with clothes from all his doting grandmothers and aunts, but I was certainly responsible for putting this outfit together that morning.

So who dressed me, I wonder?  After carefully coordinating that rockin’ ensemble for the two-year-old, I obviously just threw on any old boring schmata before leaving the house.  I must have been running late.  Otherwise, it might mean that everything revolved around the baby…oh, wait…  

Oh, well, when you’re as thin as I was then, I guess you can wear anything.  I can’t believe I was ever that thin.  Could I ever be that thin again?   Just so you know that hairstyle was very “in” in those days, although it doesn’t look as though I took the time to fix my hair that particular day.

By the way, that’s my original, natural hair color.  My husband asked me once about that, and I couldn’t really remember – it had been so long.  Frankly, I never thought it was that flattering with my skin tone, which is why I jumped at the chance to change my hair color at the first gray hair sighting, which sadly took place just a few years after this photo was taken.

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So here we are again, just a few months ago.  We both look a lot different now, but it’s not all bad..  He grew up, and I grew, well, out.  I can’t hold him in my arms anymore. 

Sure I am older and heavier, but I am losing weight, so who knows what next year’s Christmas Eve photo might look like? 

That sweet baby boy has grown up to be a fine young man.  He is dressing himself these days, and so I have a little more time to put myself together. 

My hair (both the cut and the color) definitely looks better now than it did then, thanks to my extraordinary hairdresser (and friend) Cara.  I wear glasses now, and in yet another example of how eccentric I am, I actually prefer the way I look in glasses. 

Some things don’t change though. We are still posing in front of trees for pictures.  And my son is still pretty cute.