tall tale

This week's theme at I *heart* faces is 'photojournalism'. The idea is to find a picture that tells a tale. I have plenty of photos that speak to my heart, but this is a recent one that I really love:



The thing about it is, I think the story it likely tells is so very, very different from the truth.

This is my boy on his first day of 3rd grade (see previous post for details). Looking at this particular photo, you might sense a tale of sadness or at least insecurity. Perhaps you would imagine a child who was tired or weary or just not acclimated to the early wake up times that come with a new school year. This photo might pull at your heart strings and make you feel sorry for the poor boy depicted.

Would you like to know the TRUE tale of this moment?

What you can't see in this photo is that the boy's foot is tapping out a mad rhythm because he is bursting with energy and finding it hard to sit still. He's been looking forward to meeting his new teacher and has heard that his very best friend will be sitting at the desk RIGHT NEXT TO HIM in class. He's making faces at the boy sitting across the hall way, each trying to make the other be the first to crack a smile. This is a very FUN moment. Just one frame in the excitement that is the first day of a new school year.

So despite the story it tells, the story this photo HIDES is what I will see each time I look at it over the years.

Now ... why don't you hop on over to and see what other stories are being told today!