The shiner

A friend sends me pictures of her sons regularly -- class pictures, the official family studio photos for Christmas, snapshots of the suntanned boys at the cottage. I look forward to these photos and respond with the usual "they're getting so big" or "they're looking more and more like you."

After a series of these photos, I noticed a recurring pattern and finally had to ask "what's that on your little guy's face?"

I believe her answer went something like this: "He's a boy. Don't you know? Two days before a class picture, any formal sitting for a photo, or a special family gathering where pictures are required like Christmas or birthdays, boys will fall off their bikes or the couch or playground equipment and will be sporting a scar, a bruise, or a blackeye. The more special the occasion for the picture, the more dramatic the disfigurement."

Well, Dex has his first class photo at daycare on Friday, and today, on the way home from the park, he ran past me and decided to tackle the cement ramp himself. One minute, he was laughing in glee in anticipation of me chasing him. The next minute, he's on the ground crying because he took that corner a little too quickly. He's fine. He just tripped over his own feet and fell. Nice bruise over the right eye, though, to be captured for posterity in his first class photo two days from now.