Writing Our Story a Page at a Time

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted on Facebook something about wishing people would stop being so consumed with pictures and just start living life in the moment.

I'm sure I don't need to explain to you why that touched a bit of a nerve for me, the Bekahrazzi. But alas, these sorts of comments don't run my life, so I moved on to the next post and tried to forget I'd even read it.

Late last week, a guy from my high school {that I knew of, but didn't really know} lost his wife unexpectedly. She probably wasn't even 40. She just died...no warning. No time to prepare. And the next day, he took to Facebook and begged parents to take pictures with their kids...to make videos with their kids. Because he's got a little guy at home too young to really retain memories of a mama who isn't there now. And this heartbroken father is now trying to scrape together fragmented representation of memories for his son.

And he asked if anyone knew how to make a photo book.

I've written before about my scrapbooking passion, but I'm doing it again because his post reminded me why I do it. Why I soak up hours out of my weekends to put together photo books for our little Shafferland. Why I push myself to finish vacation albums as soon as I can after the trip, before I forget details. Why I'm willing to save up Christmas and birthday money to spend it all on my books if I need to.This isn't just a hobby I'm crazy about or an obsession I need.

When I read that Facebook post about preserving memories, my first thought was, "Please, dear Lord, let me live a good long time. But if I don't, Ryan won't ever have to worry about forgetting a single thing of our life together, because I have preserved it for him. Every joy. Every sorrow. Every long, hard season. Every victory. I put it on paper for him."

Thanks to killer sales and Christmas money, I just received four scrapbooks I'd completed a while ago but had been waiting to buy. And here are some things I love about these books that make me thankful I've been capturing our story in words and pictures, one page at a time:

* One of the books I just got was our reception album...and it's been almost two years since our at-home reception. I love the page the chronicles the making of the new Freelan family photo: the first one to include EVERYONE. On the right? The good picture. On the left? Reality of the making of the photo. You betcha I included it! This is who we are!!

* I personally don't subscribe to the theory of picking only the best of the best of the best pictures. I put them all in. I try to capture life. Like, at our reception, the picture of me intensely explaining the finer points of how to serve ice cream to Tom and Olivia. Ryan, evidently turning into a weather man to my third grade teacher. And my niece being a mini-me: texting during a lull.

* Another book we got this last week was the chronicle of the first ever Freelan family vacation, taken this last June in honor of my parents' 60th anniversary. I did a page about our trip to the hotel pool and as I read through my journaling, I remembered that we'd been playing with a beach ball we found, only to find out it actually belonged to another family staying at the hotel - and how they were gracious enough to let us keep borrowing it. I'd forgotten all about that until I read it.

* Sometimes I write a bit of history in my books, like this page, where I wrote about this history of St. Meinrad Archabbey....a place we visited during one of our county tours. I didn't have to worry about keeping the brochure this way, and it helps me preserve the important stories behind this historic place.

* Although I make our books for us, other people look at them too. My friend Jeri looked at our Holiday World book and said to me {after seeing the page below}, "I never knew Ryan could eat so much!" I'd written about how he sort of put away extraordinary amounts of food on that trip - and how it just became funny after a while. I love it that people who don't know us well, but might look at our books, can learn something fun about us. Random trivia preserved in pages.

* Those Shafferland Shuffle pictures you look at every week? I put them in our chronological books. Every single day of our last year, documented in some little way.

* The books aren't just about me. They're about things that are important to Ryan, too! Yes, I documented the day we sold the Asphyxiator. Hey! That truck had been a big part of Ryan's life - and ours - but really his. Selling him was a big deal!

* Best moment ever? Hearing Ryan say, as he looked at the books when they came, "I'm glad you do this. I'd already forgotten some of this stuff. Thanks for writing our life."

I'm not saying you have to scrapbook. But whether you journal or Instagram or Facebook or blog or scrapbook - write your story. Write it for you. Write it for your spouse. Write it for your kids. Write it for those who love you. Chronicle this journey God is making with YOU!