When I think about my day to day life, it doesn’t seem very interesting, but I’m sure my children will wonder what I was like as a young mother. I know I’ve asked my Mom about her life raising 4 young kids, because my memory of those days is very blurry. I don’t really remember what my Mom was like until I hit probably 10 years old. While your everyday life may seem mundane to you, your posterity will most likely find it interesting. So, why not do a scrapbook layout about just that?
There are a couple of ways you could do this. First, try taking some photographs that represent your everyday life. If you work, but always stop at the same coffee shop in the morning, take a picture of it. Or, take a picture of your favorite coffee drink. Think about taking a picture of your bus stop, or a coworker that you have lunch with. Look around you with a fresh set of eyes, and think about what surroundings are familiar to you that you could share on a layout about your life.
If I were to take pictures of my everyday life, it might include piles of dishes, laundry, and to-do lists. But, even the stay at home Mom needs to think outside the box when creating this type of layout. I, of course, would take a picture of my children, possibly with messy faces, or when they first wake up in the morning. Maybe taking a picture of their room while they’re playing with the toys strewn everywhere. I should definitely include a picture of my office where I spend a lot of time writing blogs like these, or of my water bottle that I always always have with me.
After you have collected a few pictures that represent a typical day in your life. Crop them down to the same size. You want them all to fit on the same layout. So, create a block on the page of the photos that represent your day. If you can, write small captions under the photos explaining what is in the photo. Next think about a timeline for your day. What time do you get up? What time do you catch the bus? When do you typically get home from work? What do you do after? When is your down time as a Mom? What do you do with it? Etc. Etc. Journal that timeline somewhere on the page. You could title the page, “A typical day” or “A day in the life, 2011”.
Scrapbooking layouts are so often made up of the special events, and perfect smiles, but it is the day to day life that makes us who we are. I love being a stay at home Mom, but I don’t often take the time to really appreciate it, much less document it. I know one day I will look back with fondness of a picture of my kids’ messy room, and although you may hate your current job, one day, you will love that you took the time to document where you came from. Think about doing a layout like this once a year since our lives often change so rapidly. Your posterity will thank you, because the everyday is what makes us who we really are. It is a part of our family history.
Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here. < Return To Scrapbooking