School Pictures

I feel like a bad mom.

I'm not buying school pictures this year, and that seems so strange. I've been brainwashed to believe that school pictures, and their insanely inflated prices, are a must-do in the world of perfect parenting. My parents have school pictures of my brothers, sister, and me all the way from kindergarten to graduation. They even have our senior pictures still proudly displayed on a wall, even though the oldest photo is almost thirty years old, and the newest is fifteen years old. I have trading-sized photos of myself at age eight and nine, smirking at the cameraman and his hideous attempts to make me smile. Not that I can remember it specifically, but if you had school photos taken in the early 80s, you surely can understand.

This is the smirk...Kind of a smile, kind of sarcastic. And the dress, oh the dress. And it's fun having the ability to go back and have a great laugh at your 3rd grade photos. My mom was never the type to send pictures back, even my freshman year when I had a horrible earache, fever, and you could tell by my grimace. Immortalized in the yearbook that way, thanks Mom. But my point is, I've never not had school pictures, and to opt to not get them feels weird.

My friend Cara first regarded me with amazement when I mentioned picture day. Her emailed response was, "School pics??? I am not taking school pics today WAY TOO EXPENSIVE you can go to Walmart for pics for $6.00" Now, I won't be taking the boys to Wal-mart for pictures (don't even get me started on Wal-mart), I will take them somewhere. Yay. Anyway, I debated back about how I'd regret not spending the extra money, but when I typed the words "besides, it's only $20 for a 5x7 and a class group picture," that I realized that she was right. It is ridiculous. Then the other child I watch in the morning arrived and said his mom wasn't buying school pictures, either. I admit that surprised me for a moment, but then the numbers and the logic suddenly didn't add up. I decided to keep my money and take a deep breath. I'm pretty sure I'm in the majority on this one; the light came on.

It is a shame that picture day is becoming a thing of the past. In the age of digital photography it is outlandish to charge $37 for a 5X7 and a class photo. Even with the processing and paying employees I'm sure they're still making a killing. If Wal-mart *cringe* can do it for $6, why can't these companies?