Those of you who live in central Arkansas are familiar with the Old Mill.

For those of you who live elsewhere — does this look familiar?

The Old Mill

You’re looking at a screen grab from Gone With the Wind.

The Old Mill possesses all sorts of twisty-fun bridges and walkways, along with access to turtles and brillianty blooming flowers. This time of year, it’s the place to take photos of your kids.

Of course, being married to a photographer means I don’t ever worry about dressing up the children and heading out for a photo shoot. After all, every day in our home is a photo shoot.

And so it was that I took my two little people and Tootie’s BFF — not to take photos, but to play, something that is unheard of at the Old Mill.

The girls and the E-man ran to and fro, skipping stones, climbing rocks and scampering across the bridges. And lo, at every turn we encountered people taking pictures of sweetly attired children. Or, in one case, a newly engaged couple seeking photos for their announcement.

Let’s just say my three little grublets were frowned upon. They weren’t properly dressed. They were dirty. They were, well, excited.

I did my best to keep them out of the way. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder:

Do we as parents spend more time searching for the perfect photo than the perfect real live moment with our children?