Upgrades

I'm a problem solver.  If something breaks, I fix it.  And if my wife complains about something long enough, I will hear her and do something about it - eventually.

Over the past few months,  I have repeatedly heard that our digital camera was functional yet "crappy."

Now, I know that many people have those big fancy cameras that take such clear pictures that you can literally count the nose hairs of everyone in the photos that they post on Facebook.  Good for them.  We aren't such a fan of counting nose hairs, so we usually settle for a point and shoot camera that is easily carried in a pocket.

Don't judge me.  I have a good reason.  In the past eight years of our marriage we have gone through probably ten digital cameras.   A couple have simply quit working, but most have come to a more tragic end, like with water balloons or some kind of physical trauma.  Most recently, Lisa blamed me for "crushing" her previous camera at the St. Louis City Museum with my butt.  That incident aside, her track record with cameras has meant that nearly half of the presents I have given her are digital cameras.  It also means that I tend to buy the functional, but cheap versions.

 

Anyway, said camera was functional, but "crappy," as Lisa had so delicately put it. (Notice the piece of masking tape holding the battery in?)

As a result, we gave her a camera for Mother's Day this year (again).  This year, however, we let her pick.  She did the research, and then we all went shopping together.

Of course, Lisa was thrilled.  She had exactly the camera that she wanted.  It was fast and it fit in her pocket.

She tore open the box in the car on the way back to Mexico and began taking pictures.  She was all oohs and ahhs. 

 

That was until we got home and tried to stage photos of the boys.  There was crying and screaming.  No one was listening.  No one was smiling.  Try as she might, Lisa couldn't get the "perfect" picture.

When she finally gave up, I heard her grumble as she left the room:  "I'm taking this expensive piece of crap back.  I can take the same crappy pictures with my old crappy camera."

Of course, since then she has warmed up to the camera again, but I learned my lesson.  

Next year I will upgrade the children, not the camera.  

Problem solved.