EACH WEEK, A different Irish parent chats us through a family photo from Instagram and explains what was really going on outside the frame – from tantrums to toilet disasters.

Fancy taking part? Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature.

Zoe Flanagan Zoe Flanagan

This week, Zoe Flanagan (@zoeeplustwo) chatted us through a photo of her daughter Addison.

Tell us a bit about this photo. What inspired you to take it?

This photo of my daughter Addison was taken a couple of weeks ago. She has been sick everywhere during the school run so we stopped into her nana’s house on the way home. A bath in a sink was a must-do. I decided to take the picture because I had so many snaps of her big brother in the same sink when he was little.

What’s one thing that’s going on in this photo that you wouldn’t know from looking at it? 

Behind the camera there were tears in my eyes and Addie’s aunties had been crying as we had just gotten the news of our own nana’s passing. Addison didn’t know why a group of women were standing around crying, but she was happy to be soaking the kitchen and messing in the water. It was a moment I needed a happy memory of. Although I was heartbroken, I am a mummy and in that moment I couldn’t let her see that there was anything wrong. 

Did it take many attempts to get the right shot? 

This photo was taken twice. I didn’t care if it was perfect, just that it was taken and it was a memory we could hold on to. I love professional-style photos, but these ones are just as perfect. 

Do you have a family photo from Instagram with a great behind-the-scenes story?

The day at the beach when the little one ingested a mouthful of sand – or the smiley photo taken just minutes after a tantrum? If so, we want to hear from you! Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature in What You Don’t See Here. 

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