This entry is in response to the unusual topic of today’s Let’s Blog Off, titled: Thumbtacks.

Since I spend a good portion of my life in a cubicle, I try to decorate it as best I can to make it a friendly place – full of hope, serenity and happiness. This would not be feasible without thumbtacks.

And pictures of my niece decorating my space.

Everyone loves children, right?

Okay, maybe some more than others. But children ARE appreciated most often when they are adorable, and in pictures rather than in their full outdoor voice, sticky selves.

My niece, Sarah, is adorable. It’s not debatable. It’s a fact. The trouble with being adored,(as Britney Spears will tell you) is that everyone follows you around with a camera taking your picture all the time. “Sarah, smile!” is more than just a Hall & Oates song. It’s a way of life.

My brother (the lucky dad) is an excellent photographer and is determined to observe and record his daughter’s life in a multitude of still images. I’m not complaining. I LOVE getting new pictures of Sarah. It’s almost like when email first came out and “You’ve Got Mail” would make my heart skip a beat. Now, it’s “You’ve been sent pictures of Sarah on Shutterfly.” I know that within minutes I will have new images to tack in place and amuse me.

This is the first photo I ever displayed of her.

I labeled it “Have a Happy Day!” People would come speak to me and glance over once or twice, then stop in mid-sentence and exclaim happily “Who IS that?!”

I don’t think Sarah has ever been anywhere that wasn’t recorded and sometimes “costumed” for posterity. I like her Halloween poses in particular. This is her annoyed unicorn pose. She gets that expression from me.

I think it’s become a game with her to try to wear her dad down by NOT smiling in the photos. She just looks kind of resigned.

What I should do is create a Sarah “Expression of the Day” and pin it up by my computer so people know my emotional status.

Things are upside down, but I’m dealing with it:

I am ignoring you:

I am having a good time:

Or, we need to have a serious talk:

Most days, however, it would probably look like this:

So, Bill, keep the pictures coming. I don’t know what I’d do without my Wall O’ Sarah.

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