“Mom, these tights are too small!” said my oldest.

“Didn’t you try them on last week when I bought them?” I asked.

“No, I just threw them in my drawer. Can I wear these?” She held up a pair with holes.

I turned them around. “Make sure the holes are in the back.”

She nodded, then disappeared into her room.

As her door closed, my son’s opened.

“Mom, I can’t get my shoes on!” he said.

I tried to help. “Wow these got small. Can you wear them just for the picture?”

“Why can’t I go barefoot? Last year we were barefoot!”

“But last year you got so cold, we said this year we’d wear shoes.”’

He snickered. I headed for the stairs. “Everyone ready?”

“I am!” said my youngest, emerging from her room in her outfit. Plus ten glittery clips in her hair.

“Uh-oh!” said my oldest.

“Shhh! I’ll take them out on the way,” I said, pushing them toward the stairs.

In the foyer I found my husband with the tripod and camera.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said as we piled into the car.

Ten minutes later we were on the beach in the same spot we’ve taken our photo for three years. The thought made me smile as I set up the camera. Until my youngest started crying.

“I am so cold!” she said.

I tried to calm her as a dog came running.

“He’s gonna bite me!” cried my oldest.

Oblivious, my son climbed the lifeguard chair and jumped into the sand.

“Don’t get dirty!” I yelled.

“Everybody sit down!” yelled my husband.

The kids froze, then took their positions.

I joined them as my husband set the timer.

Running back, he tripped in the sand. The kids laughed. So when it was my turn to set the timer, I tripped too.

The laughter continued.

After a few minutes, I checked the camera. We had our shot.

“We did it!” I said. “Now let’s get out of the cold!”

But no one heard me.

The kids were too busy jumping off the lifeguard chair and throwing rocks into the water. The cold was forgotten. Their Christmas outfits a mess. For a moment, I gasped. And then I threw down my tripod and joined them.