Scrapbooks

I am working on a scrapbook for my daughter Mary that spans the years between her birth and age 21. I finished one for Jane, my oldest, several years ago. It takes a lot of time to make these, and it is laborious both physically and emotionally. Nowadays, one can upload lots of pictures to a photo website and make a tidy little book in a few hours. But the photos I have are not digital, they are hard copies that don't exist in any other form. I have ticket stubs and hand drawn pictures, cards, first place ribbons and all kinds of the detritus that follows children through their school years. The biggest difficulty is throwing the extra photos away. I have no intention of making any more books. I decided a few years ago that one of the best gifts I can leave to my children is not leaving a mess for them to clean up. So I am culling and editing the memorabilia, saving what I think will matter, and tossing what I think won't.  It is at the same time fun to see her growing up so beautifully, yet somehow sad to remember all the the passing moments, gone so fast. At the end of the day, her book is almost finished...only 3 more years to go.  Once this book is complete, it will be a gift that can rest on her child's lap, full of love, and hope and promise.