Scrapbooking: Boon to Forgetful People Around the World!

By:By Moira, Eagle River, AK

As I began to sort through masses of photos taken over the last seven years, most of which are undated and feature unidentified but vaguely familiar-looking people, I thought to myself "what an *idiot* I am for not discovering this hobby before I forgot who all these people are!" These photos have been crammed into boxes that have been stored in closets in Africa and South America for years. Until I took up scrapbooking, they stayed in those boxes, ignored and forgotten. I don’t scrapbook specifically for any children I may have in the future…I scrapbook to reclaim memories of my past. My ability to remember has never been particularly outstanding, and although I’m not *very* old, I find that many of my memories become "soft focus" a little more quickly than other folks’.
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The funny thing about scrapbooking, though, is the power it has to bring back memories and feelings you’d swear you had forgotten, while you’re working on your pages. I often find that I remember not only the events in my photos, but the emotions linked to them as I’m arranging my layouts and figuring out how to hide a horrible journalling mistake. Maybe it’s the concentration involved in creating these expressions of art. Maybe it’s just taking the time to focus on the photos themselves that bring my memories back.
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Either way, scrapbooking has enabled me both to recall my past and to exercise my creativity. I’m a technical editor, so words have always come easily. The real challenge has been arranging my photos, journalling and embellishments in ways that bring my memories to life. In the process, I reflect on my experiences, remember them, and, with a little luck, make them live again for others who page through my albums. Pretty amazing for a simple, little, all-consuming hobby, huh?


Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: Family Stories, by Orlando, Florida