This little boy is one free spirit.

Imagination is his middle name. On any given day he can go from playing doggy to soldier to super hero a hundred times. I think he knew how to be a cowboy, even before he knew what a cowboy was. On this particular summer morning, we prepared Trey for a ‘pioneer day’ parade around the church parking lot. We borrowed the boots and the vest and I rummaged through my dresser for my nearly forgotten red bandana. I sent Chase to retrieve the stick horse from the toy closet while I summoned my best western-drawl and taught Trey how to say, “Howdy Pardner.” Thinking I was done, I focused my attention on Clark, the boy destined to become a mountain man, when Trey suddenly exclaimed,

“Mom … guess know what? I don’t have a hat!”

He was right, no cowboy is complete without a hat. We finished our preparations, and in spite of the late hour, raced to the store and purchased this little felt one for $2.79. I think that hat graced his head only long enough to make his entrance, and then as these things often go, we never saw it again. But, for one brief moment in time, Trey was a real live rootin’ tootin’ hat-wearin’ cowboy—and that’s all that really matters!

NOTE: This is a page in my Photos I Love album. I’ve undertaken a project—without a deadline—to publish the stories that are hidden away in my many scrapbooks. I am keen to get these stories online, so that A) they are archived and B) they are shareable. 

As scrapbookers and memory keepers, we tend to be very focused on the creative process. There is nothing wrong with this, but I am a advocate for letting SOME of your pictures tell a small story, like this. Even ten or fifteen “Photos I Love” in an album (or on your blog or in Facebook album) will go a long way in sharing family stories and making them available to those you love.

Edited Jan. 2019
I’ve designed a kit, called Stories I Love that can help you gather and document the photos you love the most! Click HERE to learn more.