Documenting my son's life when he was small was so very easy. We lived in a city which was close to many other cities. There was always something exiting to do with a young child. Moving to a quiet island lifestyle was difficult for me. It was hard to learn to slow down. At times, it seemed as though there wasn't anything new to document in our lives.Everyday felt the same. One of the biggest advantages to living in the Bahamas for us, as a family, was learning to live a simpler lifestyle...an experience from which I am sure has influenced my sons' character.
I often hear so many parents complain about the difficulties of living with a teenager. Yet, I don't feel any of those struggles with my son. A story starter from Simple Scrapper inspired me to document all of the little details that make up the unique characteristics of my son's current personality. In many ways, this is a page about the right now, but it also will provide a look into how my son had changed since he was small. Furthermore, it will provide me with inspiration in the future when I find myself looking back once again.
This layout was wonderful for me, not just due to the story told, but also through the ways in which I used up many of my scrapbook supplies. I started with the pocket cards. Several of the cards had distinct phrases which had been difficult for me to incorporate into a traditional monthly project life spread. The references to the sun, moon and stars guided me to choose the celestial themed vellum as my canvas and the vellum moon as a die cut.
I struggled with the placement of the story. Should I use a journal card or journal strips? A list seemed a practical way to get my point across but placing either the card or the strips on the layout seemed to make the page feel unbalanced. Small tags were a wonderful answer to my dilemma. Each tag houses a short phrase or a few sentences about my son.. I moved the tags around on the layout to get the spacing just so. They added balance, color and a bit of dimension leaving me with what felt like a well balanced scrapbook page.
The changes ahead in my life are definitely leading me to be a bit more introspective. It's not a bad thing at all though, especially when it comes to my memory keeping. These moments in my life help me tell more defined stories...stories that feel fulfilling, that help me feel gratitude for the people I know, my family and the wonderful opportunities that I have been blessed with.
Life gets busy and we forget to stop and be thankful for it. If you have ever complained about not having something interesing to scrapbook about, I invite you to pause a moment and look at your life as though you were reading a book. Are you beginning a new chapter, in the middle of one, or coming to the end? None of these is a bad place to be for each one inspires you to feel a different way about the photos you are putting in your albums. That moment in which you find yourself right now...that's the story you should be journaling about. It is the story you were meant to tell.
Such an amazing post Christy! I love hearing the story behind your page and also your insight about stories. I also find myself wanting to scrapbook more STORY lately, but it's been hard with personal things going on. You are right in that the "right now" story is the one I should be telling. Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kelly. I don't always tell deep stories on my pages. I think I go through cycles. There are times when I am lucky to tell the basic who, what, when, where and why. Then there are other times in which I have the time for deeper thoughts and to really delve into a story deeper.
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