Social media is a highlight reel. We know that. And I think a lot of us think about that when we take pictures as well. Why take photos of the mundane when we think nothing is happening? I decided to challenge myself to take photos of all of the different activities that happened during one day. I ended up choosing Super Bowl Sunday by accident, but it turned out to be a great day for photos.

The day started out like any other weekend day – breakfast, an activity (it happened to be the park this day), and then some time alone while Henry is napping. It was so fun to take some pictures of our time at the park as Henry and Will don’t get a ton of time together during the week and therefore spend weekends having all kinds of adventures together. It was also eye-opening to take a few photos from my perspective as I worked. This is the view that I have quite often and I’m glad that I have a way to remember it.

I stopped taking photos after Henry went to bed, though. The rest of the night was spent on the couch watching The Crown, and I didn’t remember to take a photo of that. But before we settled in for the evening, I did take a few photos of Henry brushing his teeth; he loves brushing his own teeth, but whenever we try to help him (to you know, actually get them clean), he is not a happy camper. I wanted to leave that photo in there to remind myself that not every part of the day is sparkling and perfect. While we tend to remember mostly the good as time goes on, I like having the reminder that life is a little messy.

I learned a lot taking on this challenge. There’s a lot to be said for focusing on the individual moments throughout the day and not just waiting for something big or funny or “interesting” to happen. I loved being able to capture the little moments like my husband and son eating breakfast together and me simply sitting on the couch doing some work. Those moments are all a part of my life, whether I think they’re important or not. And being totally honest, I want to remember those moments. In 20 years, I want to be able to see what my true life was like, not just my highlight reel.

When I think about taking photos of my own life, I’m definitely going to think about making sure that I capture the seemingly mundane moments as well as the big ones.