Why is scrapbooking important?

By:Annette Oviedo, NM

Why is scrapbooking important?

Where do I begin? I guess it all started just after older dd was born in the fall of ’98. I had been introduced to scrapbooking, and I wanted my mom to see what it was all about. I knew she would be hooked, once she saw it. Newly retired, I convinced my mom to make the two hour drive to come to her first crop. Mom was a born cropper, she got hooked instantly, and began her journey.

Over the next couple of years, Mom scrapped her heart out. I must brag, my dd was the mostly the subject of her scrapbook pages. I loved watching her eyes light up when she came up with a good idea, and then when she showed me her pages. As for me, I had barely made a dent in dd’s baby book.
Fast forward to Fall of 2000. I was pregnant with younger dd due in May. Mom had been sick the last year, but still scrapping. After almost a year, they hadn’t found out why she was having difficulty breathing. Yet another bout of pneumonia, she was hospitalized. It was then that they decided to get aggressive, and finally discovered that she had lung cancer, Stage 3. Mom opted only for chemo, it was pretty advanced. She didn’t want to discuss the subject. We went on with life, me wandering if she would make it to the birth of my next child.

Right after Christmas, my mom’s whole attitude changed. Scrapping became her therapy. First she scrapped her cancer diagnosis. Then she scrapped her chemo treatments. Then she started scrapping her hospital stays. We almost lost her that following March. During her second hospital stay, the family took care of her cremation arrangements, obit, and such. Mom wrote the obit while she was recovering in the hospital. After her release, she wanted to go to the funeral home to meet the people and take photos of the place. Would you believe it, she made a four to six page spread of the funeral home, titling it “The Last Stop on the Highway of Life”. Mom started taking a harder dose of chemo, and began to lose her hair, but her spirits were good. At this point, with Mom’s attitude, I thought she was gonna beat it. Second dd was born; life was good, and even with her numerous hospital stays, Mom managed to scrap 200 pages for the year 2001 by May. She won a medal, and was so proud it!

Fast forward again, to August 2001, Mom’s hair was starting to grow back and look good. One morning, Mom woke up not being able to complete her sentences. It was found shortly after that Mom had developed tumors in her brain. Even with this diagnosis, Mom went ahead with getting a valve installed to administer chemo easier, and started radiation treatment for the tumors. Her scrapping habits had slowed down, and I still made my monthly trips to crop with her. During the year I hadn’t done much scrapping, my mind just couldn’t stay on it. But I still went through the motions, not accomplishing much.

Sept of 2001 was our last crop together. My sister even drove from Arizona to attend. We had a great time! I started an ABC album for older dd, Mom was working on her first heritage pages of pics of her as a child. She got so into helping me set up my pages, she didn’t get much done that day. Within two weeks, Mom was back in the hospital. She could hardly stay awake, and had trouble walking. The tumors had spread, and she was losing the battle after fighting so hard for 11 months. All treatment was stopped, and we waited. Mom passed away in the middle of the night, at the hospital on October 30th, 2001.

In 3 short years, my Mom had put together over seven 12x12 albums, and I had only scrapped 50 pages. In those last eleven months, Mom scrapped over 200 pages, got to meet her first great grandchild, and my younger dd, her last grandchild. She even won 3 ribbons for her pages at the county fair just before she went into the hospital the last time. My children may not remember their grandma, but they have a legacy. Those scrapbooks in my closet, page after page, that my mom put together to show who she was, and to also show her love for her grandchildren. This is why scrapbooking is important. My children won’t have memories, but they will have those beautiful pages as a memory, for a lifetime! I know there must be a scrapbooking heaven; Mom is there right now, continuing to scrap her little heart out.

Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: How has scrapbooking changed your life?, by Kathi Z. (aka femjailcop@aol.com)