Rediscovering the Meaning of Scrapbooking

A story from Scrapgirls newsletter.

Rediscovering the Meaning of Scrapbooking

This may sound weird, as I'm a digital scrapbooking supplies designer and scrapbooking is my life, but I just rediscovered the meaning of doing it.

My older daughter, who turns three this year, was looking at some pictures and layouts from when she was little. She could recognize herself in the pictures and was having so much fun looking through all of them! I thought that she was too young to enjoy what I do, but children grow up fast and parents are usually “behind” them.

This little episode made me think. I really want my children to know not only what they looked like when they were little, but also what they did, what they said, what they liked to do, to eat, and to play with. I also want them to know what we, parents, were thinking about them and that's why I'm so thankful that I found digital scrapbooking. Doing things digitally is especially great in my situation – it saves me money, time, and mess. I just can't imagine scrapbooking somewhere in the kitchen until all hours and then having to clean up after I finish. Just one paperclip left behind could cause trouble. All I do now is turn off my computer. I have enough other things to clean after the children go to bed.

So, today, I sat at my computer with the feeling of an important mission ahead of me. I still have so many memories to scrap, hundreds of pictures that need to be linked with words. I will do it eventually and I am not getting frustrated with the prospect of all the work. Some of the pictures can be put into photo albums; I do not have to scrap them all. Some of them tell stories, some don't. My favorite photos are those shot on ordinary days. Those that show things that seem to be unimportant at the time. Everyday things like the little quirks of people we know. I enjoy reading my scrapbook pages most when they show me things that I have already forgotten!

So, enjoy the layout about my younger daughter and her obsession with a washing machine!

- Ariadna

From: http://www.scrapgirls.com 02/16/09