Scrap the Not-So-Perfect Moments Too



Life is not always perfect is it? But, when we look at the pages in a photo album, it may seem like it is all happy moments. We see weddings, and birthdays, holidays, and happy moments, but sometimes, creating a heritage album is about sharing what your life is all about. And, we all know that with this life, comes difficult times too.

The idea of scrapbooking a difficult moment is sometimes hard to imagine. We see pretty papers, embellishments, and ribbon, and we can’t imagine pairing that with a picture or journaling that might be hard to read. Now, I’m not saying that we should scrapbook horrible events, but maybe think about scrapbooking life changing events that shaped who you are today.

The photo I added to this post is a layout I did of one such occasion. My son had come home from a long day at church, and was all dressed up in his baby blessing outfit, he was tired, and hungry, and I just wanted a few pictures of him. So, I tried to have a quick photo shoot of him. As we all know, babies do not always cooperate when asked to be cute on cue. Instead, he got mad. Really mad. But, for some reason, in that post-partum bliss I was in, I thought it was cute and snapped a few of him screaming anyway. This layout is one of my favorites in his baby album. It tells a true, real story from that special day.

If you feel like a sad story, or meaningful event in your life needs to be told, but you aren’t quite sure how to do it, you can think about possibly doing it without a picture at all. Or, if it is something really personal, you can just include a picture of yourself, and leave the rest of the story telling to your own journaling. This kind of scrapbooking is more similar to keeping a journal, but is still a poignant way to tell a life event.

The other day, my husband and I were sitting at the kitchen table right after daylight savings time, and our kids were obviously ready to go to bed, way too early. They were both not functioning well, and were crying at the dinner table at every little thing. My husband and I looked at each other and just burst out laughing. He suggested we video tape that moment. I said, why not? It is real. It is what life is. It is part of our lives right now raising small children.

Think of your scrapbook the same way. Don’t just scrapbook the pretty moments, but scrapbook the real ones. Your scrapbooks will be treasured even more by those in your posterity that got to know the real you.

Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here.


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