A couple of days ago, I was involved in a conversation with a non-scrapbooker about journaling and scrapbooking. While I love having these conversations, there are some that stay with me longer and make me really think about things. This was one of those conversations.
Jennifer is just figuring out that she would like to put her pictures in a pretty album so her children can enjoy looking at them. She doesn’t think she’s creative enough to make pretty, elaborate pages like many of the traditional scrapbookers, and she really doesn’t think she has the time. Those two things I can certainly help her with, it’s what I do. But then when we got past the “I can’t do this because…” statements, we began talking about journaling.
“What? Why Journal?” Those words have gone through my head time and time again. Sometimes I have a difficult time understanding why people don’t want to pass along memories to future generations. The pure joy on my childrens faces as they pour through a scrapbook is enough to make me want to continue doing it. But then I include loads of journaling. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always it tells a story about the pictures or who is in the pictures.
Why Journal? Because someday there will come a time when your stories disappear. Nobody will know them, and they won’t remember them. If you take the time to record your memories on your pages through the written word, it means so much more.
If your cousin were to come and visit, would they be able to sit down with your photographs and be able to tell what is happening in every single picture? Can they tell where it was taken? When it was taken? These are reasons to journal.
So if you are ever wondering Why Journal? Hand your scrapbooks to your children and watch them as they remember what happened, as they tell a story of how they remember it, and watch them create more memories for you to commemorate.
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