Preserving Memories and Traditions.

looking at my scrapbooks with family...

I am sentimental. I am also a chronicler. My mum would say I chronicle because I am sentimental, but that is only part of the reason. I would say that I photograph, journal, videotape, scrapbook, and even blog because I have a poor memory. Yes, my memory is poor, yet I love memories. So, I take record of the parts of my life that are important to me. It is more important that I remember my children's first words than what I am supposed to pick up at the grocery store. Indeed, I have a chalkboard in my kitchen to remind me of the daily "to-do's", and I have my own personal "archives" to remind me of the important things.

As I write this, I have lumps of stress residing in little pockets all over the house. They are our family photos that are now numbering in the hundreds. Even worse, many are also backlogged on my computer - not forgotten, but definitely neglected - awaiting the attention they so deserve. I have bountiful scrapbooking supplies taking up residence in my scrapbooking/wrapping station, which are also collecting dust. It all makes me feel very guilty and anxious, thus making me avoid it all the more.

I did, however, make one huge stride towards protecting the most precious memories of all: our family videos. From our wedding, to the moments immediately following the births of our children and beyond, those videotapes sat languishing in their cases until yesterday. My fears of the tapes silently deteriorating, and erasing those wonderful moments forever (ten years is their shelf life), led me to pack them all up and take them to a photography store to be recorded onto DVDs. I know it will be an expensive undertaking; but those moments are priceless, and I am both relieved and excited to have gotten that ball rolling. We are all looking forward to lazy Sunday afternoons with popcorn, spent watching their childhoods unfold again before our eyes.

Speaking of eyes, I know mine will be filled with tears as I watch them. Now that they are older, their father and I find ourselves reminiscing about them as little ones. It often makes me sad that the time has passed so quickly, and I hope that I appreciated all their gifts of humour, cuddles, and toothy grins that they gave us so willingly. We, as parents, get caught up in the difficulties of raising little ones: the sleepless nights, the sicknesses, the temper tantrums, and other stresses of just raising and affording our kids. I honestly feel each stage is the best stage, but there are some I miss very much...

As I settled my daughter into bed last night, I was reminded of the importance of the traditions we have set in place as parents. She asked me to sing her a song, one of our favourites; and as I warbled out a tune that probably only she could appreciate, she beamed at me. A big, bright smile that my song didn't really deserve. I was silently starting to get a little paranoid when she explained the reason for her happiness: "It reminds me of when I was a baby, Mummy, when you sing me that song. I loved being your baby."

~Sigh~

I am going to be a mess when I watch those videos of my babies...

"The thinks you can think, if only you try..." (Dr. Seuss)

I am a part-time scrapbooker. What I mean by that is I get heavily into "scrapping" a couple times per year. Usually in the winter, when life is more centered on being indoors, and when my pile of photos becomes overwhelming. Scrapbooking appeals to me for mainly two reasons. I am a very sentimental person and I want to honour my photos/memories and slapping them into a cheap album that will digest them over time strikes fear in my heart. Secondly, I have a terrible memory. I feel like I have spongy holes in my brain where information, and more importantly, memories get lost. Scrapbooking these memories symbolizes, to me, a place where I can go to get these memories back.

My first experience with the myriad of scrapbooking supplies out there didn't begin with their intended purpose. No, I tend to look at things and think- how can I use these items in a different way? So, in fact, I started making things (pictures, trinkets, etc.) out of these wonderful supplies before it was the norm to do so. I love the story, The Princess and the Pea, so I decided to make a picture using scrapbooking stickers and paper for Sophie's room. I had a fake peapod that for some reason (I have no idea), I had held onto for a few years. I glued it on to the picture I made and viola! Very satisfying!!

I also created a clothesline for her room by cutting clothing shapes out freeform and stringing them on scrapbooking threads. That was fun and turned out quite nice. I also often cover stretcher canvases from the Dollar Store with pretty paper and mount things to it. Cheap and easy art that even a child can do. It's also a great way to showcase a child's treasures.

Speaking of kids, I even used scrapbooking paper to decorate Sophie's Barbie house. I have to admit I had more than a little fun "wallpapering" the little house and using stickers and embellishments for Barbie's decor. I was a real Barbie girl as a child so I didn't have to go very far to find my imagination in my attempt to create a "dream house" for Sophie. I also went through a phase where I made all kinds of things for a "Sweet Shop" for Sophie and her friends. I even designed a menu for them to use when visiting the "shop"...who's the kid here?!?!

My point is, and I do have one, use your creativity and think outside the box when decorating your home (in this case, child's space). Take a trip to your local scrapbook store. You will be amazed at all the treasures that are at your fingertips, ready for your imagination...