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| The Layout That Took Three and a Half Years to Complete |
It is easy to scrapbook events. There are papers, stickers and all kinds of amazing embellishments designed for special, happy events in our lives. Manufacturers of scrapbooking supplies know that we want to remember those beautiful days with the panache that they deserve. But what about the "real life" days? The ones with bumps, bruises and tears? With children facing chronic illness, the days of special occasions are joy-filled, but so are the days where you can simply say, "She had a good day today." Meaning, she got some rest or wasn't feeling as sick as she had been.
I am not trying to be Debbie Downer here, I am trying to explain... mainly to myself.... why it took me over three years to scrapbook photos that have been printed and stored with the papers that I had selected so long ago. It seemed awkward to want to honor this memory as much as the happy-go-lucky ones. But there those pictures sat on my desk. Getting moved from pile to pile, from storage box, back to desk. Until finally I had to face my own qualms about calling attention to what was a huge part of our lives, but one I hadn't had the strength to address. Ongoing illness. Doctors saying she will always be sick. She'll have "good days" but she will always need to be medicated. She'll need to stay indoors. And the list goes on.
Does this make me a bad mother because I could not bring myself to do a layout that calls attention to the fact that my child was sick for months at a time? Please know it was only because it made me sad to know that I could not make her better.
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| The Hidden Journaling Tag |
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I promise the next post will be my regular, happy missive. :-)
And, as an additional bit of happy news, my dd2 is actually relatively healthy now and has far more 'good days' then bad. She can be outside (most days) now and acts and looks like a 'normal' seven year old.
Hugs,
Beverly
Such a sweet post, very true and honest. The page is beautiful and shows your love for your little one!
ReplyDeleteCarri~abusybee
www.doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com
Thank you, Carri. It is a heartfelt post and I appreciate that you truly understand! Thank you! Hugs, Beverly
DeleteBeverly - thanks for sharing this difficult to create layout! I know I have some in my albums that took a long time to complete, as well. I agree it is important to record these memories, too. Thank you for not just recording it, but sharing it as well.
ReplyDeleteConnie,
DeleteIt is nice to hear that others have layouts that took a long time, too! Thank you for your thoughtful words about my sharing the layout. I wasn't sure about doing it. Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a comment. Hugs, Beverly
Bev... this is a beautiful "real life" layout. Even though real life isn't always easy, those harder days are part of our memories as well, and part of "our life" story. They should be scrapbooked as well. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteYep, Paula, that is exactly the case isn't it? I know you know that real life isn't always easy. It is nice to hear that you think those parts should be scrapped as well. It really made me feel better reading your comment this morning. Thank you! Hugs, Beverly
Deleteyour post and layout is just lovely, it is hard to scrapbook the tough days, I don't do it as often as I should, my son just had a surgery and I took pics of him in the hospital and recovering at home and finally made a page of it, he won't remember the experience since he's just four, but someday he can look back on it...congrats on making the FD design team, I am on the layout team, looking forward to seeing more of you work :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laurie! I appreciate your comments and am excited that we are both on the FD team. :-)
DeleteI hope your little guy is doing well post-surgery. It is scary when they go through that kind of stuff and so nice to have them home again. :-) Hugs, Beverly