I saw this today and thought this is exactly why I scrapbook! My only problem is when was the last time I scrapbooked?!
I'm going to get back on track to do a monthly crop. Hope you will join me.
Leaving A Legacy: Share Your Values Through Your Scrapbook
By Joanna Campbell Slan
(This article originally appeared in the February 2000
issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.)
Last summer I took a road trip from St. Louis to central
Wisconsin to visit
a dear friend who was in the middle of chemotherapy
treatment. For the most
part, I wanted to see if she was okay. I wanted to hug
her, look at her, and
assure myself that the chemicals were winning over the
cancer. Another part
of
me wanted to encourage her...to scrapbook.
Oh, I know we should not preach about our addictions. But
I thought of all
we two had been through in 16 years of friendshipba
miscarriage, a divorce,
two marriages, two births, a return to graduate school, a
bounce-back from
depression, and authorship of two booksband I worried that
her
seven-year-old son
might not realize how truly special she is. As an author
and a mother, she
has already made two lasting contributions to the world.
But as her friend, I
know those contributions to be the tip of an iceberg. I
see her as a
courageous woman, a thoughtful and sensitive historian, a
loyal and caring
friend, a
cheering section, a keen mind, a fellow book lover, and on
and on. The last
day I visited we wandered into a craft store, and I
outfitted her with a
"starter set" of scrapbook supplies.
"Deckle scissors are indispensable," I lectured. "They
cover a multitude of
sins. Photo splits, well, you just can not live without
them. This pack of
die cuts will get you started. You can journal on them and
use them behind
photos or to decorate your page. The paper must be
archival, as well as the
pen."
We walked up to the checkout counter with our basket
loaded. The woman
behind us in line heard what I was doing and said, "Gee,
would you be my
friend, too?"
In the car, I continued to explain the basics of
scrapping, pausing only for
air. Then my friend managed to slip in a question, a wee
small question,
that rocked my world. "If I only do a few pages, what are
the most important
pages to do?"
Pause and think. How would you answer her? You see, we can
read bout
heritage albums. We can put together ABC albums. We can
finish tribute
albums. But
we have not tackled legacy albums. As a sisterhood (with
our rare and
precious
few scrapbooking brothers), we have not really plumbed the
depth of this
whole "craze." We have not discussed how we can use our
scrapbooks to leave a
legacy of love.
Since then, I have put myself in her place. Not hard to do
since I, too,
have a young son. And, I have thought about her question
as I have talked to
scrapbookers all over the country. Seems to me, we are
doing a great job of
saving photos and memorabilia, but we are falling short
when it comes to
values.
The truth is, thatbs what I want to pass on. Thatbs what I
need to pass
on.
What I want to leave behind is a sense of who I am, what I
have learned and
how much I have loved being alive. To do that, I will have
to go beyond
birthday, holiday and wedding pages. In addition to them,
I will have to
concentrate on what really mattersband I will have to come
up with new
ideas to say
what I want to say.
For example, an astute scrapbooker might look at a page
with a birthday cake
that took me all night to make, and translate that page
and photos into,
"Look! I love you so much that I moved way out of my
comfort zone. I gave up
sleep. I exposed myself to ridicule. And I did it joyfully
because I love you
and I wanted everything to be perfect even though it never
is, because I
think
you are perfect!"
But, I cannot be sure that my son can read my Morse code.
Some of us are on
AM and some of us are on FM, and what if he is tuned to a
different frequency
when the time comes that I can not lean over and hug him?
Turning this over in my mind, a few indelible messages
soon surfaced. First,
they tumbled out in the form of a letter:
Dear Michael,
When I am gone, here is what I want you to know:
What the happiest days of my life were...
What the saddest day of my life was...
Why I married your father and why I love him so...
What obstacles I overcame and what I learned...
What happened during my lifetime that made an impression
on me...
What I was grateful for...
Who you can turn to...
What filled me with joy...
What I hope for you...
What you have meant to me...
What I believe in...
My wish list (the virtues I have tried to incorporate to
be a worthwhile
person)...
So, I created a special sort of scrapbook for you. This
book contains not
only our family memories, but also our family values.
You can carry on my legacy in this world. (And of course,
your fatherbs
legacy as well!) I hope as you look through this list, you
will see how much
we
tried to show you, rather than just tell you, what we
valued.
Love,
Mom
But I became very motivated to do the pages while they
were taking form in
my imagination.
To get a consistent look, I used paper from Keeping
Memories Alive. The
colors are harmonious and gentle, which is exactly what I
wanted to "feel" of
the
book to be. Then I decided on a "style." I wanted the
pages to stay simple
yet elegant. I tried die cuts, but they seemed too small
for these grandiose
ideas. So, I outlined die cuts and enlarged them on my
copier for patterns.
Along with punch-art embellishment, the look is simple but
bold. On the
computer, I wrote the copy and headline for each page.
Using the same size
and
style of type gave the finished pages continuity.
Someday I hope to share my questions with other family
members. Also, I want
to ask these questions of Michael. As he grows, the
answers will change, but
those changes will document his growth as a person.
The album I envision is sort of an autobiography, a story
of me, with
photos. Shortly after I conceived this album, a
conversation on the way home
from
picking Michael up at school validated the need for it.
He had a bad day. We discussed it, and he lamented, "Mom,
I am so sorry. I
am trying hard. Really I am. I wish I would do better."
I heard the disappointment in his voice. I realized how
much maturity he was
showing by even noticing that his bad day had gone a long
way toward ruining
mine. "Honey, I know you are trying," I said. "I can tell.
But we all have
setbacks. Think of them as speed bumps in the road. We all
hit speed bumps."
"But why do I have more speed bumps than other people?" he
moaned.
"You donbt. It just seems that way. I have hit lots of
bumps in my life. I
still do."
He turned his face to me, suffused with hope, and said,
"Could you tell me
about them?"
One day we will not be sitting side by side in the car. If
he is alone, he
will not be able to ask me. I will not be able to tell him
what I have
learned. Or what I hope he is learning.
But, if I can just create a few pages, if I can just ask
myself the right
questions (see "Key Questions to Ask" that follows), I
will be able to leave
a
part of myself behind. And if we all start thinking in
terms of our legacies,
maybe we will encourage each other with our ideas for
questions and pages.
We are still only looking at the tip of the iceberg, but
maybe with this new
approach we can mirror the part of ourselves, that large
undiscovered region,
beneath the water.
Key Questions to Ask
The scrapbook maker is often the picture taker. Are you
absent in your
photos? If so, consider having photos taken that help you
answer the
following
questions, adapted from Scrapbook Storytelling.
Whom do I love?
Who has been significant in my life? Why? How?
What do I like to do?
What do I care about?
How do I spend my time?
What would I miss if it were lost?
What special memories would I like to keep?
What customs or rituals do I (or my family) have?
How do I make my living? Or, how do I make a contribution
to this world?
How do I express my gratitude?
What family stories do we tell again and again?
What favorite foods do we have?
What are our favorite places?
What do we do frequently? Routinely?
What do we do with our free time?
What hobbies do we have? (Besides scrapbooking,
naturally!)
What sorts of animals or pets do I enjoy?
What cultural events do I attend?
What does my heart good?
What books, saying, philosophies matter to me?
What makes me laugh? What makes me cry?
What important people have I met?
Whom have I lost?
What is unique about me and my family?
Where do I like to visit?
What music do I enjoy?
What interesting projects have I or my family taken on?
What sorts of correspondence have I kept and why?
Notice that asking these questions helps you focus on the
reason you want to
keep your memories alive. Each turns your attention away
from "special
events" and toward "how you live your life."
I'm going to get back on track to do a monthly crop. Hope you will join me.
Leaving A Legacy: Share Your Values Through Your Scrapbook
By Joanna Campbell Slan
(This article originally appeared in the February 2000
issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.)
Last summer I took a road trip from St. Louis to central
Wisconsin to visit
a dear friend who was in the middle of chemotherapy
treatment. For the most
part, I wanted to see if she was okay. I wanted to hug
her, look at her, and
assure myself that the chemicals were winning over the
cancer. Another part
of
me wanted to encourage her...to scrapbook.
Oh, I know we should not preach about our addictions. But
I thought of all
we two had been through in 16 years of friendshipba
miscarriage, a divorce,
two marriages, two births, a return to graduate school, a
bounce-back from
depression, and authorship of two booksband I worried that
her
seven-year-old son
might not realize how truly special she is. As an author
and a mother, she
has already made two lasting contributions to the world.
But as her friend, I
know those contributions to be the tip of an iceberg. I
see her as a
courageous woman, a thoughtful and sensitive historian, a
loyal and caring
friend, a
cheering section, a keen mind, a fellow book lover, and on
and on. The last
day I visited we wandered into a craft store, and I
outfitted her with a
"starter set" of scrapbook supplies.
"Deckle scissors are indispensable," I lectured. "They
cover a multitude of
sins. Photo splits, well, you just can not live without
them. This pack of
die cuts will get you started. You can journal on them and
use them behind
photos or to decorate your page. The paper must be
archival, as well as the
pen."
We walked up to the checkout counter with our basket
loaded. The woman
behind us in line heard what I was doing and said, "Gee,
would you be my
friend, too?"
In the car, I continued to explain the basics of
scrapping, pausing only for
air. Then my friend managed to slip in a question, a wee
small question,
that rocked my world. "If I only do a few pages, what are
the most important
pages to do?"
Pause and think. How would you answer her? You see, we can
read bout
heritage albums. We can put together ABC albums. We can
finish tribute
albums. But
we have not tackled legacy albums. As a sisterhood (with
our rare and
precious
few scrapbooking brothers), we have not really plumbed the
depth of this
whole "craze." We have not discussed how we can use our
scrapbooks to leave a
legacy of love.
Since then, I have put myself in her place. Not hard to do
since I, too,
have a young son. And, I have thought about her question
as I have talked to
scrapbookers all over the country. Seems to me, we are
doing a great job of
saving photos and memorabilia, but we are falling short
when it comes to
values.
The truth is, thatbs what I want to pass on. Thatbs what I
need to pass
on.
What I want to leave behind is a sense of who I am, what I
have learned and
how much I have loved being alive. To do that, I will have
to go beyond
birthday, holiday and wedding pages. In addition to them,
I will have to
concentrate on what really mattersband I will have to come
up with new
ideas to say
what I want to say.
For example, an astute scrapbooker might look at a page
with a birthday cake
that took me all night to make, and translate that page
and photos into,
"Look! I love you so much that I moved way out of my
comfort zone. I gave up
sleep. I exposed myself to ridicule. And I did it joyfully
because I love you
and I wanted everything to be perfect even though it never
is, because I
think
you are perfect!"
But, I cannot be sure that my son can read my Morse code.
Some of us are on
AM and some of us are on FM, and what if he is tuned to a
different frequency
when the time comes that I can not lean over and hug him?
Turning this over in my mind, a few indelible messages
soon surfaced. First,
they tumbled out in the form of a letter:
Dear Michael,
When I am gone, here is what I want you to know:
What the happiest days of my life were...
What the saddest day of my life was...
Why I married your father and why I love him so...
What obstacles I overcame and what I learned...
What happened during my lifetime that made an impression
on me...
What I was grateful for...
Who you can turn to...
What filled me with joy...
What I hope for you...
What you have meant to me...
What I believe in...
My wish list (the virtues I have tried to incorporate to
be a worthwhile
person)...
So, I created a special sort of scrapbook for you. This
book contains not
only our family memories, but also our family values.
You can carry on my legacy in this world. (And of course,
your fatherbs
legacy as well!) I hope as you look through this list, you
will see how much
we
tried to show you, rather than just tell you, what we
valued.
Love,
Mom
But I became very motivated to do the pages while they
were taking form in
my imagination.
To get a consistent look, I used paper from Keeping
Memories Alive. The
colors are harmonious and gentle, which is exactly what I
wanted to "feel" of
the
book to be. Then I decided on a "style." I wanted the
pages to stay simple
yet elegant. I tried die cuts, but they seemed too small
for these grandiose
ideas. So, I outlined die cuts and enlarged them on my
copier for patterns.
Along with punch-art embellishment, the look is simple but
bold. On the
computer, I wrote the copy and headline for each page.
Using the same size
and
style of type gave the finished pages continuity.
Someday I hope to share my questions with other family
members. Also, I want
to ask these questions of Michael. As he grows, the
answers will change, but
those changes will document his growth as a person.
The album I envision is sort of an autobiography, a story
of me, with
photos. Shortly after I conceived this album, a
conversation on the way home
from
picking Michael up at school validated the need for it.
He had a bad day. We discussed it, and he lamented, "Mom,
I am so sorry. I
am trying hard. Really I am. I wish I would do better."
I heard the disappointment in his voice. I realized how
much maturity he was
showing by even noticing that his bad day had gone a long
way toward ruining
mine. "Honey, I know you are trying," I said. "I can tell.
But we all have
setbacks. Think of them as speed bumps in the road. We all
hit speed bumps."
"But why do I have more speed bumps than other people?" he
moaned.
"You donbt. It just seems that way. I have hit lots of
bumps in my life. I
still do."
He turned his face to me, suffused with hope, and said,
"Could you tell me
about them?"
One day we will not be sitting side by side in the car. If
he is alone, he
will not be able to ask me. I will not be able to tell him
what I have
learned. Or what I hope he is learning.
But, if I can just create a few pages, if I can just ask
myself the right
questions (see "Key Questions to Ask" that follows), I
will be able to leave
a
part of myself behind. And if we all start thinking in
terms of our legacies,
maybe we will encourage each other with our ideas for
questions and pages.
We are still only looking at the tip of the iceberg, but
maybe with this new
approach we can mirror the part of ourselves, that large
undiscovered region,
beneath the water.
Key Questions to Ask
The scrapbook maker is often the picture taker. Are you
absent in your
photos? If so, consider having photos taken that help you
answer the
following
questions, adapted from Scrapbook Storytelling.
Whom do I love?
Who has been significant in my life? Why? How?
What do I like to do?
What do I care about?
How do I spend my time?
What would I miss if it were lost?
What special memories would I like to keep?
What customs or rituals do I (or my family) have?
How do I make my living? Or, how do I make a contribution
to this world?
How do I express my gratitude?
What family stories do we tell again and again?
What favorite foods do we have?
What are our favorite places?
What do we do frequently? Routinely?
What do we do with our free time?
What hobbies do we have? (Besides scrapbooking,
naturally!)
What sorts of animals or pets do I enjoy?
What cultural events do I attend?
What does my heart good?
What books, saying, philosophies matter to me?
What makes me laugh? What makes me cry?
What important people have I met?
Whom have I lost?
What is unique about me and my family?
Where do I like to visit?
What music do I enjoy?
What interesting projects have I or my family taken on?
What sorts of correspondence have I kept and why?
Notice that asking these questions helps you focus on the
reason you want to
keep your memories alive. Each turns your attention away
from "special
events" and toward "how you live your life."
