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We had a great Labor Day. One of the best holidays I can recall in a long while. I took Gabby for a two-mile walk at 5am, then fell back into bed until 10am. We all  lounged around the house until about 1pm, when we set  out for a local park.

I didn't want to mess with packing a picnic, so we ate lunch here first. Then headed out with the dog, a football and a bag of stale buns to feed the fish and the ducks. Though the park was busy, there was plenty of room to roam and play. We found an open space in the grass and scattered to toss the football, playing keep away from the dog.

The sky was so blue. The kids were laughing. The dog was wagging her tail. It was then that blogger's remorse began to set in. I did not bring a camera with me. I could blog about the afternoon, but there would be no cute pictures of Gabby and Robbie going after the football or Annie with her hair blown every which way by the breeze or Charlie happily dripping wet from the water sprayers at the playground.

Soon enough, I got over myself and just enjoyed the time with my family.

Then later tonight, I was chatting with my sister-in-law, Erin, on Facebook. Today was my niece's birthday. (Boy, how fast those 6 years have gone!) I told Erin I'd love to see some pictures of Camryn's big day.

"I'm a bad mom. I only got a few pictures. The camera battery went dead," Erin tapped out via instant message.

I thought about it for a minute. Why do we think that way? As a former scrapbooker, I used to never be caught without my camera for even the smallest "occasion." I bought Annie a new outfit once because it matched a little scrapbook cut out I had and I could just imagine the adorable layout I could create. But I've come to understand and to believe something that I shared with Erin.

"You're not a bad mom," I said. "Sometimes it's better to be present in the moment than to be watching it happen in front of you as you look through a camera lens."

So, dear readers, imagine an ocean-blue sky, cotton ball clouds, crunchy brown grass and a very still pond. Picture a family wobbily tossing a football from person to person as the dog alternately tries to get the ball and to get away to chase an unseen scent. Let your mind's eye see the growing-up-so-fast smile of a six-year-old who just got her ears pierced today.

Because those are the only images available. Except for the precious pictures attached to the memories already filed away in our joyful hearts.