Passport Baby

Have you ever seen a drivers license picture and thought, "Oh my, that is flatering," and not been sarcastic? Not likely. However each photo tells a story, regardless of whether it looks like you went strait from the beauty parlor to the DMV or if it looks like you were tortured for several hours before having your picture taken.

A couple days before Jarom was born I had filled out the necessary paperwork: passport application, expedition forms and waivers, visa applications and copies of certificates. I had everything ready to go except four things. The baby's birth certificate, a special notorized document, passport photos, and most importantly a baby. Monica and our midwife did a good job of seeing to it that we had a baby. Grandpa Mike Hoxsie did a good job of heckling the county recorder to get the birth certificate in time. However, I struggled in fulfilling my duties.

Getting a day old baby to pose for a photo is not easy. It is particularly difficult when both ears must be visible, and both eyes must be open. In order to take this passport legit photo I tried everything. First I tried making a funy face with no success. Then I jiggled him to get him to open his eyes. I propped him up. I sang to him. I tried to scare him. I was nice to him, and then I gave up and tried to hold him down. This tactic did not work at all.

Eventually we had a passport legit photo of our then two day old son. It didn't quite capture the feelings of love that we have for him. It didn't tell of our trip across the Pacific for his well being. I could find it discouraging how the photo omits the most important parts of the story. Yet, I choose to see it as the photo that enabled us to be together again – as a family – worth more than any Picaso or Michælangelo.