I’m going to put on my hipster hat for a moment (soooo..like, a fedora or something?) and say that Adam and I liked photobooths waaayyy before they were these neat, kitschy things to hire to be at your wedding.
We liked photobooths before they were cool, is what I’m saying.
I know that this is a bold assertion, so I have proof. I was worried that I didn’t, because all of our stuff, including my giant memory box (shut up) has been packed and loaded into the back of Adam’s truck, BUT! due to the power of the Internets, I can show you this.
Our Save the Date cards from when we got engaged in 2008:
BOOM!
I wish I could dig out all of our photobooth pictures from over the years – the ones where Adam was rocking a soul patch, the one where I have my hair pulled back so tight I look like a man, and the one right after we found out I was pregnant, there are some real gems in there.
Two days ago we found ourselves in a really old, run-down mall. The kind where eerie elevator music plays to an empty food court, and you can hear your footsteps as you walk past the lonely storefronts.
Kind of creepy.
But then, we saw a photobooth. I got all excited and said we had to take a picture, HAD TO! it would be our first strip with Olive in the frames, and I was beyond excited. Adam rummaged through his pockets and found a $5 bill, and I ran into the nearest store – a sort of newspaper shop- to get change.
“Don’t let them make you buy anything!” he called after me. It’s one of Adam’s hugest pet peeves when stores make you buy something to make change. I nodded, and kept going.
I get into the shop and I shift Olive up onto my hip (I was totally using her to increase my chances of getting change – who can say no to a baby?)
Well, apparently this dude.“We can’t open the till without a sale” he told me with zero expression or inflection in his voice. No “sorry” even, and we’re in Canada!
Undeterred, I ran across the mall to a Starbucks. I waited in line for five minutes only to be told the Same. Thing.
I returned to Adam, who was getting super pissy about the whole situation. “They won’t make change?” he snarled, “That’s ridiculous.” and he stormed off towards an abandoned looking Walmart.
Aaaaand came back thirty seconds later looking even MORE pissy.
He started ranting on and on about how it was so much bullshit and he’s worked in retail for xx amount of years and they HAVE to be able to open the cash registers and why won’t anyone just help people out in this crazy world of ours Madeleine, WHY?
And then he glared at the Starbucks and stormed off again in its direction.
“Adam? Where are you going? Adam?! Don’t make a scene! Please don’t make a scene!” I was getting all flustered because dammit I wanted that photobooth picture but I wanted to retain my dignity even more, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s confrontation. Tell me no a million times and I will never do anything more than meekly smile and thank you for your time.
Tell Adam no, and he wants to know why not? And how come? And seriously? Try again.
So he stormed off towards Starbucks and I tried to pretend like I didn’t know him.
And he waited there for like ten minutes, waiting for someone to pay with cash so he could get change. Just stood there, not being rude, but just staring at the baristas in some sort of bizarre standoff, where Adam was the hero and he was going to prove a point about all that was wrong with the world by beating the system! Ha!
Meanwhile I was slowly digging a hole to crawl into a die from embarrassment.
Then, THEN, the Starbucks manager came out from the back to do a routine cash out or something, and she unlocked the till (when Adam tells this story his voice rises to a surprisingly shrill upper register as he says “till”) and, hey, surprise! They were able to give him change after all!
He was all in a kerfuffle as he came back with the change, vowing, “I’m not even going to enjoy these pictures! I’m going to remember these pictures as the pictures that took thirty minutes to do because those dicks wouldn’t give us change even though they could!”
But that is not what he will remember about this particular photobooth session. Ohhhh no.
He will remember them as the pictures where his wife couldn’t remember what part of the glass to look into, and his beautiful baby daughter made THIS face when she saw the reflection of her parents kissing.
I present to you, my new favorite photobooth picture:
xo
No Comments