The Po Show

Jersey Boys (and Girls)

We went to Paramus, NJ today. Since it was a holiday, we had the kids' holiday pictures taken. Ross was kind enough to take the day off so he could go with us (he had to burn one day off anyway, before he lost it at the end of the year). I always try to have their yearly portraits done in early November, before the mad rush at Picture People. I learned the hard way, in Matthew's first year, that things get ugly at discount portrait studios right before the holidays.

The Picture People in the mall five minutes from my house closed, as did the one in the mall right across the river. So the closest one to us is now in Paramus, in New Jersey.

New Jersey seems soooo far away. It is another state, after all (though so is Connecticut, and that's about 8 miles away from us). It seems, different. It's the land of the Sopranos, and Bruce Springsteen (who actually came on the radio soon after we crossed the border).

In actuality, it's like 20 miles away. And gas is really cheap there. And Paramus (28 miles from White Plains) has a lot of malls, plus Ikea and Campmor. So why have we only been there once in the 3 and a half years since we've moved here? Well, first of all, everything in Paramus is closed on Sunday, which is the day we usually go out and do things. And it's in NJ, which seems very far away, though it is not.

But today we were hanging with the Jersey boys and girls, spending seemingly never-ending time, waiting to take portraits. We got there early, fed the kids a snack, then were told that one of their cameras wasn't working so they were running behind. 45 minutes after our appointment time, we got in. Every year I say I'll never take them for portraits again, and every year we go. It's one of my ideas of hell, jumping up and down and making stupid faces and begging my children to look at the camera and smile. This year's results were far less attractive than last year's, but they've taken worse. I was reasonably satisfied, and emotionally exhausted. We kept going, though, and wandered all the way through Ikea, looking for a desk and cabinet for Matthew. I'd forgotten how cavernous Ikea is. We used to practically live at the one in Carson, back in CA, but it's no longer in our regular stops.

So that was my view of New Jersey, as seen through shopping. There are worse prisms.