The following
post is written by Steady Mom's monthly contributor, Catherine.
Sometimes it's a hobby, sometimes a passion, and occasionally a "to-do"
item on my list--but no matter what, recording my family's memories,
milestones and heritage is something I am intentional about.
Until
recently, I was a traditional scrapbooker. I would gather my
supplies and leave them out for several
days while I worked at getting precious photographs placed and
thoughts recorded. I have even been known to go away for a
weekend to scrapbook with friends.
I've
always had a love for memory making and from a very young age took
interest in saving things to remember my experiences.
Currently I have a motto to focus my memory-keeping:
"Simple Pages = Completed Albums"
With three kids under eight-years-old I must stick to simple page layouts
or I would get so far behind it would be hard to catch
up. Can you relate to that feeling?
In
addition to photographs, milestones and keepsakes, I journal quite a
bit about our daily events and thoughts about life in
general. I consider our family scrapbooks to
be something my kids will cherish long after I am gone.
I wish I had more of my mom's thoughts and interpretations from my own childhood to share with my kids. Once she passed away it was even more evident that creating these albums will be a gift to my family for years to come.
I find now that my memory is not that spectacular. Details of events preclude me. Even remembering specifics of each of my children as infants seems difficult at times. I refer more often than expected to our albums for timelines from our life.
This week I put the finishing touches on my youngest son's 2nd year album. I was showing him a few of the funny pictures in the book and explaining that he was looking at himself as he would ask "Who that baby?"
It jumpstarted a memory lane marathon as we took out each of the kid's albums
and flipped though them. We shared stories about the pictures, laughing
at how unflattering some of the newborn snapshots were.
The kids giggled, smiled and genuinely enjoyed seeing their life in a book. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them turn each page
and squeal with excitement about the event.
The family time we spent reviewing our life made all of the hours of hard work worth it.
When my little ones get older I
look forward to them working on their scrapbooks alongside of me.
But for now, I will take these rare moments of inspiration as proof that my kids are wildly impressed with my work and dedication to our family's story.
**How do you document your family's memories?**
Catherine is a mother of three
children who finds strength in
simple ideas, inspiring others, and keeping things in perspective. She
blogs at The Shoe Box Daily,
where you can get tips and
ideas for thriving in the midst of life's challenges.
