Real Moments

Serious game of "Apples to Apples" was being played Saturday night.

Not really.

The photos just make it look that way.

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We celebrated multiple birthdays that night. There are four people that have April birthdays in our family and we decided many years ago to combine them into one big party.

We spent most of the night laughing and teasing, joking and eating. Enjoying each other's company. Licking our plates clean because they were covered in peanut sauce from the grilled chicken and that peanut sauce is plate lickin' good.

I don't often edit photos into black and white or sepia tones. But I always like it when I do.

Textures stand out from each other. Shadows take on a life of their own. The light tones seem like beacons, calling to the eye, "Look at me! Over here!"

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I love these photos. Real moments. 

The mind remembered the fun that night and the laughter we shared.  But the camera? The camera caught something else. The quiet moments. The thoughtful pauses.

Those are the things the mind skips right over. The things that fail to register in the memory banks. But they are just as real as the laughter.

And they paint a more complete picture.

Real moments.