Every Sunday morning, just before we head to church, I always grab my phone to take a few pictures of my parents.
It’s become a little tradition, something small yet meaningful that we all look forward to. In those few moments, while my parents are standing side by side, ready to go, there’s always a little bit of magic in the air.
My dad is usually the first to get ready, then he’ll wait for mom to get ready so they’ll meet up with the early morning communion before service. My dad’s always looking sharp in his native with this proud, almost playful expression. When I raise the camera, he laughs and says, “You want to delay me today again abii!” He acts like he doesn’t love it, but I can see a little spark in his eyes.
My mom rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling, too. When I take the photo, there’s something real in their expressions, something warm and familiar that I know will make me smile whenever I look back at it.
I love the picture which was taken on Sunday, probably because nothing went wrong and everything was as planned. My mom was wearing a bright traditional dress, and my dad looked at her with this soft smile, like he was seeing her for the first time.
In that moment, they weren’t just my parents, they were two people who had built a life together, who still make each other laugh, who still have that spark. When I look at that photo, I don’t just see a picture. I see all the years, all the small moments, the love that’s held them together.
These little Sunday morning snapshots have become so special to me.
Every one of them makes me think I know my parents not just as ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’, but as people who have married for years, raised children, found faith and love in each other. And they’re genuinely happy in these photos, genuinely blissfully happy in ways that don’t need to scream. It’s that happiness I want to take, to cherish, to remember, to have the memories of the moments of joy and fun together, just the jokes and warm feelings of affection between them.
These photos are my way of keeping memories and of keeping those pieces of family and home close to my heart.
There are times when instead of feeling nostalgia, I will just go to my gallery to see every one of those moments, for every Sunday morning and for every bit of love captured in those snapshots.
Thank you for reading ❤️✨