Scrapbooking a Lifetime of Memories
Scrapbooking is a popular hobby these days. There are books,
magazines, websites, companies, and meeting groups dedicated to
preserving our photo memories in a personally meaningful way. I
have a dear friend who creates scrapbooks that are truly works
of art; people actually pay her to make scrapbooks for them. My
scrapbooks will never reach that level of sophistication,
consisting only of photos attached to colored paper and simple
captions. Nevertheless, I hope that my children will someday
appreciate the books I have made for them. Each boy has his own
book so that when they grow up and leave the nest, they can take
a piece of their past with them. In their books are all the
pictures you would expect to find: birthdays, Christmas, trips
that we have taken, as well as some photos of everyday
occurrences. All the individuals who have played a role in their
young lives are labeled by name so that thirty years from now
they won't have to come back and ask me who these people are.
Yet, despite my attempts at thoroughness, I can't help but feel
that the most precious memories are the ones that don't fit
neatly into a scrapbook. There are so many moments that haven't
been preserved on film, times that the presence of a camera
would destroy. Playing hide-and-seek in the backyard, curling up
with my boys reading their favorite stories over and over,
running around the bases at the park, and the quiet times at
night when my husband and I get them ready for bed are some of
my cherished moments that are captured only in my heart. I wish
that there were some way of holding on to those memories and
passing them along to my sons, but I have to trust that they are
making their own. Although they may not consciously remember
these joyful times, I hope that the feelings of love and
happiness will be permanently imprinted in them for them to one
day share with their own children. Then, their scrapbooks will
be complete.
Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of The Spiritual Woman
Newsletter (http://www.spiritualwoman.net) and author of
"Letters to Mary from a Young Mother" (iUniverse, 2004). She has
a Masters Degree in Applied Theology from Elms College.