The moment I felt most judged as a parent happened shortly after my third child was born. Friends and family flooded our home with well-meaning gifts—onesies, trays of lasagna, and endless parenting advice—while I stumbled through the fog of postpartum exhaustion. Each time I picked up my phone, usually to capture a fleeting newborn moment, someone would joke, “Ivy hasn’t made the cut?”
At that point, my iPhone wallpaper was a snapshot of my two older children, taken years earlier. They were sweaty, giddy, and sprawled across Brooklyn Bridge Park—a photograph frozen in time. That photo captured the innocence of pre-pandemic days: before toddlers became school-aged kids, before we moved to Philadelphia in the middle of a lockdown, and before leaving behind our closest friends in a city we were still learning to call home.
My home screen had been frozen in November 2019. I loved the nostalgia it brought me, the way it transported me to a simpler time. I didn’t feel the need—or perhaps didn’t have the emotional energy—to update it.
That changed almost a year later. One quiet evening, after the kids were asleep, I wandered through my iPhone settings and stumbled upon a feature called Photo Shuffle. With a few taps, my home screen transformed: Ivy, now a curious baby with a masterful bum shuffle and a stubborn refusal to crawl or walk, appeared as the centerpiece of my wallpaper. The photo was radiant, alive with her personality, and it made my heart swell.
Curious, I explored the feature further. Which other Featured Photos should rotate on my phone? I added each of my children’s faces, skipped my husband’s and the cat’s (sorry!), and clicked Done. I also set the shuffle frequency, deciding to see a new photo at the top of every hour.
The joy of checking in
The very next morning, I hit snooze and smiled without thinking. My middle child, Tess, stared back from the screen, proudly holding a Di Bruno Bros bag brimming with cheeses and meats—a harvest for a picnic we planned later that day at our local park. Hours later, returning from school drop-off, I passed by my work notifications on Slack, distracted by the sight of my oldest child, now eight, grinning at me with half his first-grade teeth missing. I hadn’t realized the wallpaper would rotate hourly.
For weeks, every interaction with my phone became a small delight. Sometimes it revealed forgotten snapshots, like a candid laugh or a silly face I had overlooked. Other times, it highlighted milestones—training wheels discarded, the tooth fairy’s first visit, trips to new cities. Each photo reminded me of a moment worth savoring amid the chaos of parenting.
More than just a photo memory
Months later, this simple feature continues to bring me joy multiple times a day. It has also given me perspective on the sheer volume of experiences our family has shared in this not-quite-home city. We’ve wandered through Philadelphia’s parks and museums, sampled cuisine ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants to hidden Cambodian strip-mall gems, walked and scooted countless miles, celebrated home-team highs and heartbreaks, and even expanded our family by one more child.
Though I sometimes struggle to feel rooted in this city, my children have no memory of Brooklyn. For them, Philadelphia is home. And it’s technology—my simple, rotating wallpaper—that subtly reminds me of the life we’ve built here.
Of course, phones come with challenges: distraction, privacy concerns, and the occasional mental-health strain. But in moments like these, they can also become a bridge to joy, reflection, and connection. The act of checking my phone is no longer stressful—it’s a gentle nudge to pause, smile, and remember what truly matters.
How to set up Photo Shuffle
On iPhones:
- Go to Settings > Wallpaper
- Tap Add New Wallpaper
- Scroll to Photo Shuffle
- Tap Featured
- Select People
- Choose who to include
- Tap Done
- Confirm shuffle frequency and tap Use Featured Photos
On Android:
While Android doesn’t have a native Photo Shuffle, the Screen Saver feature comes close:
- Go to Settings > Display & Touch
- Tap Screen Saver and toggle it on
- Tap Photos > Customize
- Choose desired effects like Fill Screen or Animated Zoom
- Select Google Photos account and albums (or local folders)
- Tap Back > Preview
With just a few taps, your phone can become a rotating gallery of cherished memories. Every time you glance at your screen, you’re greeted not by emails, notifications, or deadlines—but by moments that truly matter.
