“Was that during COVID?”

The question arises from time to time as we swipe through personal photos on the phone, suggesting that it’s a broad, encompassing experience in our collective distant past, and thank God it is. Hearing now the occasional news of the day that so-and-so just contracted it no longer carries with it the alarm and concern it once did. In many ways, it’s been reduced to the severity of the common cold as new strains’ potency has waned even as our own constitutions have become better conditioned through vaccinations or previous exposure. One family member of mine recently learned he had been infected yet found himself able to carry on capably with the tasks of the day. How easy it’s been to forget what changes were wrought both near and far in our lives once the virus took hold.

Routines were radically altered in a moment. The way we interacted with others, the way we spent our money, the way we traveled, whether across borders or the short drive to the store — all of it changed, and caught in the middle of this were our kids, who relied on us, as always, for a sense of safety and security in spite of the panic and fear that existed beyond the front yard. Many children found themselves irreversibly altered, faced with new anxieties their parents still struggle to alleviate.

Daily thrown-together, makeshift homeschooling — it’s own unique, fresh hell for parents such as us who were not trained as educators — tested our nerves and patience. One friend of ours said it best over a phone conversation at the time, excusing himself from the call as it was that cherished time of day to endure “rage math” with his grade-schooler. Lessons with our youngest were typically characterized as such and were actually tag-team matches between my wife and me, desperately tapping out once voices were elevated and tears of frustration began flowing freely for both of us.

For all of the uncomfortable realities created, the year of COVID also fostered a wealth of pleasant experiences and memories for many families, ours included. We as parents were compelled within the forced isolation to explore and implement new routines to keep our progeny engaged and distracted from the stresses presented by a 24-hour pandemic news cycle. We were no different. Our breaks between dreaded school assignments involved trips to a local park, followed by drinks from Sonic and “name-that-Disney-tune” on the drive back home.

Following a game of hide-and-seek in the park during one of these homeschool breaks, I captured a casual selfie of the kids and me, unaware that it would become my favorite picture of the four of us. It would later sit framed on my work desk prior to exiting the professional world, and it now sits on a shelf in our bedroom beside my favorite photo of my wife in her flowing white dress on our wedding day. Not to brag, but, as far as pictures go, to me, it’s perfect and is in need of no editing or correction.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, for a period of time, I dabbled in photography as a hobby. Time spent in study and practice taught me a thing or two specifically about composition, which isn’t necessarily aided with the use of high-priced, high-tech equipment. The most priceless purchase I ever made while engaged in the hobby was a simple, inexpensive, overlooked book with the banal title How to Take Good Pictures, published by Kodak, which had much to say about the subject of composition with little use of the word itself. I still recommend it to any budding enthusiast. Contained within the ten tips are two this favored picture employs, notably, “move in close/fill the frame,” and “use a plain background.” I would argue that these two points alone remarkably improve almost any picture captured with any camera.

Technical aspects aside, there is much to be divined from each of the kids’ personalities and character in this frozen, candid moment. Deztinee, our oldest, stands apart but otherwise upbeat in the background, willingly included but happily reserved. Dezira sits almost inconspicuously in the corner of the frame, careful not to forget Charlie, the diminutive family pet, who joined us reluctantly, I’m sure, on a few of these trips to the park. Her natural, felt kinship of cute, furry creatures is on full display. Calib, our youngest, appears prepared to tumble exuberantly over me and into the lens. The most closely connected of our children to my wife and me, he comfortably presses tight against my shoulder, clueing the viewer in to his unequivocal attachment to us.

It’s all there, and I’m sure much more could be said. The smiles are genuine. There’s no unpleasant subtext lurking behind the subjects, no hint of misery due to a global pandemic. The happiness is real and palpable.

More than a picture, I realize, it’s a critical lesson for times of trouble or misfortune. Joy is present and available if you choose it. Maybe this is another, perhaps subconscious, reason I cherish the photograph. God knows how I can feel beleaguered by the stresses of the day. Yet, here is proof positive that even I can feel differently, in spite of the fact that the entire world itself, at that very moment in time, was drenched in uncertainty and fear. I pray it serves as a stark reminder to my kids as well in the unknown future that awaits each of them.