Every year for my mother’s birthday, she insists (though I  believe she calls it ASKING) on a family picture .

She always wants us to “surprise her”… but she knows its coming because none of us would dare challenge the wrath that we would be subjected to should she not get what she wanted.

So what? Give the woman a family picture, what’s the big deal – right?

Not exactly.

Being the oldest, this task always fall back on me to coordinate. Which shouldn’t be that challenging- except we are dealing with teenagers… 3 of them.

This year, my brother George (18) moved out to California for college, so we were under the gun to get this picture done over the holidays before he left.

Let me tell you a little bit about my brother George. He is your typical “know it all”-”I’m so mature, yet not even close”- 19 yr old you will ever meet. You tell him one thing, he does the other… and last year- between shots he was whipping out his cell phone between shots! and no, not for text messages, but for actual calls. (What? you’re so “uncool”.. he had to make plans with his peeps!) -THIS. Was. My. Breaking. Point.

I swore I’d never organize these photos again because the cell phone was only the icing on a years of a well baked cake.

In addition to the challenge of working around these teenagers social calendars, I have the pleasure of also playing the roll of wardrobe director.

We’ve been doing these pictures for 4 years now, and have used up just about every SIMPLE color scheme you can think of. All White. All Black. Boys in Black, Girls in Pink. Easy enough, right? Yet even with simple colors like those- we managed to run into wardrobe issues. On our “all white” photo shoot, my then 14 yr old brother- Steven, showed up in a white Hanes t-shirt. ((Sigh)) So quickly we ran around the mall searching for a dress shirt, minutes before. The year after the boys forgot to get haircuts, so here we are all dressed up with 2 teenager with over grown mops on their heads.

Oh yea, and did I mention I have 2 children of my own?… including a 4 year old that for some reason every year throws tantrums if his latest action figure can’t be IN the picture? Yes, Mario, Spongebob, and now Alvin the Chipmunk- have all made cameos in our family pictures… all cleverly disguised and ‘hidden’ but look close- they’re there.

FLASH FORWARD- 2010

When my mother gave out her marching orders, knowing fully that I dread this task. I told her “Fine… but warn your son, if he takes out that cell phone even once to check the time…. I am out.”

And surprisingly, this – the fourth year- worked out perfectly. All were dressed appropriately, cell phones were in check.. and everyone smiled for the camera.

But, I couldn’t leave without messing with my mother a little. So this weekend was her birthday and this the picture she opened up first—-