And the process.

Scrapbooking is, for me, a wonderfully therapeutic way to process the mysteries of life and the passing of time. It’s a way to take a photo from the 50’s, pages of a journal and a pretty piece of paper and put them together so they tell a story. This page tells a part of my father’s story.

My father worked as an architect. He spent his year of military service in Europe helping to redesign the runways and airfields on American Air Force bases. He then lived in the south of France, where he worked with an architectural firm and formed some life-long friendships. During his years abroad, he traveled extensively and kept journals of his many observations….most of which had to do with architectural details and stylings. Every once in a while, however, I was delighted to discover the philosophical ramblings of my twenty-something dad.

Over the past few months we’ve seen the decline of my elderly father ~ now a shell of his true self. Spending time with his photos, writings, childhood drawings and memorabilia has helped me to feel close to the man I cherish. And I have loved creating a scrapbook that celebrates his many accomplishments.

To look back over a life ~ or an event, a trip, a childhood or a milestone ~ is to remember fragments. Pieces. We have some snapshots, ticket stubs and diplomas...or some letters, drawings, invitations and awards. There is great joy when the pieces come together to create the bigger picture. I always feel, after creating a scrapbook, that the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. That somehow the in-between spaces come to life. And we find warmth and memory and meaning.

“The Storyteller is one who comes bearing a great and lasting gift.” Edward Eggleston

I remember my grandparents. I remember them teaching me how to wrap packages. I remember climbing on to my grandpa’s lap while he clipped my fingernails. I remember their handwriting….on my grandma’s recipe cards, and the notes on my grandpa’s desk. As anyone would, I have many childhood memories that include my grandparents.

But remembering my grandparents, and knowing their story are two very different things.

Last year I discovered a “Bride’s Book” that my grandmother kept about her engagement, wedding and honeymoon. Her book was full of telegrams and invitations and photos and ticket stubs...Memorabilia that transported me back to another place and time. Her time. As she told her story, she also told me the story of that era. And the romantic tale of her first days with my grandfather.

This lovely little book was such a find!

She was the storyteller. And she left a great and lasting gift.

It is my sincere hope, as we launch our website today, that we will help a great many people create lasting treasures for friends and loved ones. We’ll help your children be able to tell their kids all about their childhood….their birth stories, and school day stories.  We’ll help you save the best moments from your favorite family vacations. There are wedding stories, and retirement stories … well, the stories that make up a life are all waiting to be told.

Join us here. Stay tuned. Tell your friends!

Let’s work together to create, as my grandma did, some great and lasting gifts.