Scrapbooking Strenthens Connections

By:Linda J.(lindy)

Scrapbooking has strengthened my connection to family and friends

Since I was introduced to scrapbooking in 1998, my life has changed in many ways. Scrapbooking has helped me connect with relatives and friends, fulfilled a need for a creative outlet, boosted my self esteem, and matured me by stretching me.

My interest in scrapbooking was initiated by my desire to give a unique birthday present to my sister, who loves pictures and memories. What better gift, I thought, than to give her a scrapbook filled with memories of our lives together as sisters. I planned the album very carefully, spending a year on it, and finally gave it to her. Needless to say, she was speechless. The hours and the money spent on that gift was worth it to show her how much she means to me. No one else could give her that gift because no one else has that connection with her that I do.

Scrapbooking continued to bring a connection with my family when I had the idea to make a scrapbook to give to my grandfather on his 100th birthday. He loves pictures and memories, too, so I knew the gift would be appreciated. My father picked out pictures from my grandfather's life and verses from the Bible to go with each picture. I learned so much about my grandfather and how God has been with him all his life. I also connected with my father in a new way as we worked together for several months on the book. We gave it to my grandfather on his birthday and never could have imagined how much joy he would get from looking at that scrapbook over and over for the next 2 1/2 years. He died just before Christmas this year, at 102 years old. Although I was unable to attend the funeral to talk about how special my grandfather was, I was able to tell him in a tangible way every day for those 2 1/2 years, through my scrapbook, how much I loved him.

My family members were not the only ones I connected with through scrapbooking. I have made new friends and strengthened old friendships through scrapping together. Because I have been married since I was 22, I have not had a lot of time to spend with girlfriends. Most church activities revolve around couples and it is hard to find things to do together to get to know other ladies well enough to call them friends. Even old friends who were still single had their own circle of single friends and we didn't get together much. Scrapbooking has changed all that. Now I have an opportunity to spend hours at a crop talking with my girlfriends, learning about each other just by looking at the pictures we're putting in our scrapbooks. I have even made friendships with other moms of children at my kids' school because we discovered we had something in common - scrapbooking.

What a life changing hobby scrapbooking has been for me and my family and friends.

Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: New Connections, by by Cynthia, Holden, Maine