How I Grew

I remember the photo shoot
Only because it’s burned in my brain
From daily seeing myself posed in the frame
Dressed in little boy brown shorts
With snappy brown suspenders
A white short sleeve shirt and red bowtie
Looking suave with my crewcut and contented
As if I’d made my own decision
About what to wear
Which would never have happened
For me at that age
The way parents decide everything
Hoping the eventual best outcome for you
In everything you do
So by the time you put on big boy pants
Make all your own clothing choices
You’re on a solid foundation
Put together by them for you
And I can see that promise
As I smile off to the right out of frame
How I will grow guided well by them
Into what I picture myself to have become