Can I take a picture with your child?

Photo: Botanical Gardens with the two cameras pointed our way.

Normal: Paparazzi surrounding us every time we head out to a park or other public place.

For the National Day holiday during the first week of October, we went to the Botanical Gardens for a picnic with our international friends. The gardens were full of visitors enjoying one of the last days of cool fall weather before winter comes.

The gardens are a destination for brides and grooms with their entourage carting around dresses, cameras, and props for bridal photos. M’Lynn always gets a kick out of seeing all the dresses, dolled up ladies, and guys carrying purses for their lady. If she has the camera, there’s no doubt we’ll come home with tons of pictures of brides.

National Day was extra special day for brides. There were more than we could count. After a few meters into the park, we received our first request, “Can I take a picture with your child?” We offer our response that we can’t speak for Kanyon, but you’re more than welcome to try. Sometimes he is in the mood for pictures and other times he just wants to continue exploring.

The cameras are not just phone cameras or small point and shoot cameras, these cameras are huge!

We constantly remind ourselves that we are light everywhere we go and prepare ourselves each time we leave our house knowing we are different. It is normal to be surrounded by cameras, but there are still days when we forget we’re in China and are quickly reminded as soon as we step outside.