Why I scrapbook

Today, as I was cleaning out my studio and going through all of the scrapbook pages that I have completed through the years, I was caught off guard a bit. As I was flipping through the pages protected in their shiny page protectors, something stood out to me. I was flipping through my LIFE. All of a sudden I traveled back in time to when my daughter was only 2 and her favorite cartoon was “The Doodlebops,” and when she loved to say, “I want some more chippies” or when she picked her first dandelion or even the time when she rode in her red wagon for the first time. I also saw her first little drawing and multiple pages of the sugar cookies we’d make at Christmastime and the Christmas crafts we completed together.

I saw pages of my dog, Maggie, when I first got her and how she loved to chew on my husband’s Nikes. There were pages from my wedding day and pages of moves we’d made, homes we’ve loved and places we’ve been. There were pages of trips we’ve taken, of me being pregnant with my daughter and my son and what I was craving and the story of the old man I talked to at the bank the day before I found out I was pregnant. He seemed to know that I was even before I did! There were touching stories. There were stories of overcoming hard times (like the fire and the diabetes diagnosis). There were photographs among photographs and I just couldn’t stop myself from smiling, giggling and yes, even crying. I was overcome with so much emotion. It was honestly one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. That feeling of remembering. That feeling of being thankful that I had stopped to not only enjoy those moments, but capture them and retell them so that I could look back on them on a day like today – just a normal every day type of day turned special because I could relive those memories all over again.

I am so happy that I have all of these pages and that although I’m not “scrapbooking” as much anymore, I’m so happy that I am continuing to write down notes, stories and journal about my life in lots of ways. I’m also so thankful for Becky Higgins and Project Life that I am now using, to simplify the process so that despite not having the time to put together “layouts,” I can still put those photographs, memories and moments together into something that my family and I can look back on for a long time.

Days like today also reenergize me. I’m getting everything organized, cleaned out and simplified even more so that I can get back on track with my Project Life pages and every day journaling. It’s important. I always knew it was, but days like today remind me of that. I don’t want to regret not snapping that photo or jotting down the silly thing my kids do today. All of those photographs and moments and memories make up this wonderful life I get to live. I want to be able to relive them because they all go by way too fast.

Yep, that is why I scrapbook. For days like today. ♥