So, today I was lucky enough to be able to celebrate the 2nd birthday of my neice’s son… I am not even sure what you call that– my second cousin, my first cousin once removed? Is he removed because he is two generations younger or removed because he is an offspring of my sister and not me? Or is he even removed? I really don’t know- I just call him adorable! Anyway, we were all beginning to crowd around the table to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. We all had our mobile phones & cameras out to snap the perfect picture, to capture that very precious moment when he sat in all of his sweet, embarrased glory while the whole room turned to him singing and sending up their own quiet wishes for his next year. All the while, all of us eager to get that “perfect” picture, so we could of course, post it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, I began to wonder. Are we taking the moment out of the moment? What I mean is, are we so much in search of the perfect picture that we lose the perfect moment in time? Sometimes, isn’t there that hint of dissappointment when you look back at your pictures and not find one that conveys the intensity, the joy, the beauty of the moment enough for it to be good enough to post on social media? Couldn’t you have zoomed in a little more? Couldn’t you have captured that smile, or that laugh, or that winning goal, or that highest jump, or that step across the finish line, or that walk down the aisle just a little bit better? My question is this, aren’t the imperfections in those moments just as beautiful as the perfect ones? Isn’t being in the present moment, enjoying the present moment, savoring that moment more important than capturing the perfect picture? In this day and age of instant media sharing, let’s cut ourselves some slack and not allow the “post” button to dictate whether or not we have a perfect moment because really, if we are in them, counting our blessings every minute of them, aren’t they all really perfect?! I know that two year old’s birthday party with family and friends who were there to sing to him, celebrate him, love him and wish him a beautiful life was just that- PERFECT!