Why scrapbook?

I know we have our "canned" responses when family members ask what the deal is with the 47 colorful "photo albums" we have on our coffee tables or when someone tries to use one of our Zig markers for writing out a shopping list, for Pete's sake!

But, really, why do you scrapbook? Not only is it my question of the week (bet you thought I wasn't doing those anymore, eh?), but it's also my challenge to you.

Almost every time I send out a newsletter, I get a person who wants to unsubscribe. It's a little sad, but I know what it's like to get a bunch of email and sometimes, even the best newsletters are just too much and I unsubscribe just to keep my inbox clean!

Last week was no exception. I got an unsubscribe request, but it was not the usual. It was from a subscriber's husband. He wrote me to request that he remove his wife's email from my list because she died in November.

Wow.

I didn't know her personally, but it really made me sad for him and his family. Imagine having not only to go through a loved one's personal belongings, but having to go through their email...people sending notes or newsletters totally not knowing that the recipient passed away.

It made me take a look at the emails I send out to my friends and hope I communicate how much I love and care for them.

Then it made me think about how grateful her husband must be that one of her hobbies was scrapbooking. He and their children (if they have any) now have a physical reminder of her. Her thoughts, her creativity, her handwriting...all in a neat little package we call a scrapbook.

I know I always like to think about my grandkids snuggling up with me on a couch someday asking to see photos of their mommy (not daddy because we have all girls!) when she was little. I just never really thought about them looking at them without me because I was no longer here to share it with them.

So here is my challenge to you and to me.

Make your scrapbooks count. Make them "you" in book form. Make them a snapshot of your personality, your thoughts, your dreams so others will know who you are even if you never meet.

This little email that was only 1 sentence may have changed my life. I am going to attempt to do an album about me. I used to think these were selfish type albums, and maybe they are in a sense because if I were to leave this earth for Heaven tomorrow, I want MY girls to know who I was, what I loved, what I didn't and most of all, how much I love them.

Let me know your thoughts on this by posting a comment below. But most of all, PLEASE share this with someone you know who also scrapbooks. Let this mourning husband's email to be removed from my mailing list be the catalyst that gets us all scrapbooking the legacy that is our lives.

Better yet, have them go to my website, Barefoot Memories, or my Squidoo lens to sign up for my newsletter. It might just be what they need to get motivated to scrap their photos and make their legacy book for their families.

Your scrapping friend,
Susan