I know it’s shocking.  I am not cut out to be a stage mom.  Sure, the idea of trying on clothes and having your child’s picture taken sounds fabulous.  And maybe, if it takes an hour, it is.  Unfortunately, ours is a story of a different sort.

We had the opportunity to look into modeling with Robbie and today was the photo shoot for his composite card, which was scheduled for 3:00.  By 4:18, we had scheduled a follow-up appointment, had our outfits selected, dressed the child (who was actually cooperative), had his hair done, and waited for ten minutes.

He got through the first of four shoots without incident.  Robbie was charming; throwing the ball, climbing on boxes, laughing.  I thought, Maybe this could actually work.

And then we hit the second shoot.  Robbie did not want to sit still.  He did not want to face the camera.  The only thing he wanted to do was push boxes toward the photographer.  I could tell the man was getting irritated, but my big clue was when Robbie came around to see the pictures and said, “Too cute!”, which is, I think, what Zhining tells the kids.

The man looked at Robbie and said, “You think that’s too cute?  It’s not too cute.  I can’t use any of these!  I wish you could just sit still.”  Of course, it was said in a French accent, dripping with irritation.  And so we took Robbie for a few minutes to play and have some juice and a snack while the man re-centered himself (and we continued with a different photographer).

Robbie loved having his hair done, calling it a hair cut and, eventually, climbing into the chair by himself to get “tickled” with hair spray.  He thought it was a great game to run around the studios, climbing up and down the blocks, and generally acting like a mad man.  The photographers kept asking if he would ever get tired.  The answer, unfortunately, was no.  Robbie does not get tired until he is in his carseat on the way home.

Eventually, after nearly four hours, we finished.  It took every ounce of energy for Justin and I to make it home, clean out the car, get Robbie to bed, and crawl into our own bed.  Of course, Robbie was still raring to go…