It all started with a song. My girls and I listen to all kinds of music. From Taylor Swift to Daddy Yankee, with a detour to Timbaland, Enrique Iglesias, The Cranberries, Adele, or Spyro, touching on Sia and landing on Kirk Franklin, to name just a few, we listen to it all and truly relish it all.
The girls also play classical instruments, as I did growing up, and can identify and appreciate various instruments’ sounds even out of an orchestra. Some of the classics are among our favorites; We can’t get enough of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, or Pachelbel. But that day, it was Vivaldi, the Winter movement from “The Four Seasons”, to be exact.
As Nini, Tai, and I enjoyed the classical piece, I shared that I fell in love with it many years ago, early in my childhood.
“It was my kindergarten graduation recital”, I explained. “I portrayed a princess, and my classmates were the seasons and other natural elements.”
“We rehearsed for months and finally put on a grand show, I continued. I have several pictures of that day…”
I promised to show them the pictures once we arrived back home. Then, it happened. My oldest, Nini, with her pensive, bright, gorgeous eyes, looked up at me and with a sweet, innocent voice asked:
“Momma, are the pictures in black and white?”
I stared back at her, gobsmacked. Why was she asking? Does it matter? Slowly, the realization dawned on me: she thought I was so old that color photography had not yet been invented during my childhood!
It felt like I had just been sucker punched. I always thought I was a “young, hip, keep up with the times” Mom. We do so much together, the girls and I. We shop, go to movies, plays, concerts, parties, and hang out. We like the same music, almost all the same shows, and have very open and trusting discussions. I have done my best to teach them boundaries while fostering a loving, respectful, trusting relationship. I apologize when I get things wrong (often!) and always emphasize that they are also teaching me important lessons along this path that God has placed us together to journey through.
They know they can come to me with anything and that my love for them will always be greater than whatever comes our way. I am constantly encouraging them to engage and socialize with their friends and to spend less time on their screens. I know, most parents agree with me on that one.
Yet, clearly, I had made a colossal mistake. Here I was, thinking I had accomplished what most parents could not. I had successfully managed to get my children to see me as a mom, yes, but one who is actually “cool.” That innocent question made me realize how deluded I was. It seems that no matter what we do, our children see us as old, and I was not ready for that. I stayed silent while mulling all this over in my head.
I finally painfully explained to them that color photography had been invented since the late 1800s. “Why would you think almost 200 years later, pictures of my childhood would be in black and white?” I moaned.
I would have liked to stay in blissful ignorance and continue to fool myself. What parent doesn’t want their kids to think they are cool? But this is no longer an option for me. Since I have to find someone to blame, I say: “This is all because of Antonio Vivaldi!”
© 2025 Addie DeRose
