But when it comes to my scrapbooks, you'd barely even know I exist. First of all I am usually behind the camera, and not in front of it. Secondly, for some reason it just hasn't felt right up til now to focus my pages on ME. I think this is because I've justified the time and money spent on this obsession (er, hobby) by saying that I am preserving my children's precious memories forever. But lately I've come to think that I'm missing the boat. My children's precious memories aren't just about the girl's 10th birthday party or the boy's 2nd season in hockey. Having lost my own mother 18 months ago, I have now come to the conclusion that my kids' most precious memories are probably going to be those that I have NOT been capturing in our albums. I would give anything to be able to look back not only at pictures of my mother from when I was young, but also to read about her thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. I am thirsty for anything that reminds me of her. I cherish even her recipes (even though I'm not much of a cook), because they are in her familiar handwriting. I miss her so much.
So I've been doing some thinking. And even though I have in the past done pages about me, these are focussed on my childhood years. I think it's time for me to capture who I am today, right now. It is in this frame of mind that I created the following layout.
The picture was taken about 2 weeks ago, on my 41st birthday, by my son. The journaling was done last week. It's a start - a quick peek into what's inside my head these days. Forty-one things about me that my kids might like to discover, or reminisce about, many years from now. It's not the most flattering picture (I totally needed a haircut - which I subsequently got - I assure you my hair is totally cute right now). And the thoughts are certainly not earth-shattering. But it's ME.
I've been talking to my scrappy friends for a long time now about starting a Book of Me (BOM) album. Most of them have. Barb, for example, has done an incredible job of capturing herself on her pages. Well the time for talk is over my friends. Now is the time for action. My pages won't be All About Me all of the time, but from now on, they will be All About Me some of the time!!!
4 comments:
you know, I was just thinking the same thing about my blog. It's all about me and I hope people don't think I'm being braggy or anything!
You are so right about the scrapbooks missing a key person ... ourselves. I have to force myself to get in the pics or to do a layout about myself.
Way to go on the layout. I love it!
I just love your page Nat! :)
I've been trying to get into the pictures more and putting those more on my pages lately as a first step. ;) LOL Next logical one will be to do more pages about who I am and was.
Nathalie, what you said really struck a chord with me. The part about wishing you knew more about your mom... because that's the way I feel about my maternal grandmother, who passed away just after I got married. As for my own mother, I try to chat with her when I get a chance, and I've even made a page or two to tell the stories that she's passed along to me. Because, yes, these are the things my kids will want to know.
I'm glad to hear you'll be doing more pages about YOU. Personally, I love scrapping pages for my Book of Me. I hope people don't think I believe the world revolves around me... but to be honest, I find it most therapeutic, to scrap those pages. The part about my kids getting to know me... that's just the icing on the cake. :P
Great start on preserving YOUR memories, Nathalie. I haven't done a whole lot in MY book but I do sometimes do some journaling when i ahve a few spare minutes or when something strikes me as being importnat - like the list of outdoor games i played as a kid. Funny how these things just pop into your head!
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