Even When It's Cold Outside Our Memories Keep Us Warm

By:Polly O

Many women believe that scrapbooking is theraputic. Though I did not start scrapbooking as a form of therapy, I have come to find out how true that statement is.

I began scrapbooking during my divorce. I could not bare the idea of splitting up the pictures of my daughter. I suggested that I scrapbook the pictures and copy the pages for my ex-husband. I did not know the impact that would have on us all.

As I scrapped the photos from the past and shared them with my ex-husband, we began to see the joy of the years we had together. There were our daughters triumphant first steps, her contagious baby smiles and giggles, her bright big brown eyes, her first art masterpiece all there to remind us of how precious and worthwhile those years were! We looked through the pages of our daughters young life and realized how precious she was and how much she needed us to be friends. We saw purpose in the painful years of the past. We began to see healing of the wounds that we had caused each other.

I scrapbooked the ongoing memories, sometimes with tears, wondering how I would ever survive being a single parent. As I scrapbooked I discovered the importance of creating new joy-filled memories despite the exhaustion, the bills, and the broken down car! I found hope for a bright and happy future for my daughter and I despite the unique challenges of being a single mom. Scrapbooking challenged me to make memories even though I felt too tired.

Recently, I married again. It is wonderful to look back through the pages of the last few years and see my new husband and my daughter building a relationship. I can literally see the three of us becoming a family. Scrapbooking reminds us all that, like the page topper at dMarie’s site says, Even When It’s Cold Outside Our Memories Keep Us Warm. Scrapbooking gives us a reason to keep trying when it gets a little cold. During the “cold seasons” we can snuggle up together in front of the pages I have created and be warmed by the joy, the love, the faith, and the commitment we have.


Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: Glad I saw the Light, by Beth G.