Confessions of a Sometimes Scrapbooker

I have a new post up over at 5 Minutes for Parenting today. It begins with me finishing Connor's baby scrapbook(s), which makes me want to clarify that, the scrapbooking? It's a love-hate thing with me.

Ten years ago, I had multiple close friends who were Creative Memories consultants. They were full of scrapbooking zeal, and they were desperate to convert me. I resisted their attempts.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy photography or "memory capturing." It's just that, at that point in my life, I rarely took pictures. I didn't have kids, I worked full-time, I rarely traveled. Plus, 80% of the pictures I did take were photographs of trees and leaves and other green things I would swoon over on our annual trek back to the Midwest each summer. (California is wonderful, but it is not green.)

Eventually, I had a baby, and drunk on new mommy love, I joined the throngs of scrapbookers. "Look! Another picture of her smiling!" "Look! She's taking a bath in this picture! Isn't she amazing?" "Oh my word. Look at those cheeks!"

But by the time Connor came along, two years later, the passion was starting to wane. Not only was scrapbooking expensive (conservative estimate: $300 per book), but my mental boat was being swamped by the enormity of the task. I had just finished Natalie's baby book, and now I had Connor's to tackle. I had little time and little space and little patience.

Then, the final blow: I got a digital camera for Christmas, and I started to take 200 pictures a week. Being an OCD sort who previously scrapbooked every picture I ever took (unless it was extremely blurry or dark, but those were the only acceptable excuses), I almost wept the first time I realized I would have to scrapbook all those photos.

So, five years later, here's where I stand. I've invested a lot of money into scrapbooking supplies, so I'll continue to real-paper-and-stickers scrapbook the first year of my children's lives. (Natalie, done. Connor, done. Teyla, in the works.) They change so fast that first year, and the pictures are so precious. I don't mind pouring over them continually as I marvel over the miracle of them.

But after that, the pictures are going to end up in digital scrapbooks, which are far less expensive and time-consuming. (Example: It takes me about a month to make a photo book at Shutterfly, and the finished product costs about $60.)

And they might not even end up there. They may just stay on my computer. I haven't ordered prints of any of my photos since July 2005, unless you count the photos printed in books.

And truthfully? I look at my pictures far more on my computer than I look at my scrapbooks -- especially since my screensaver is set to the My Pictures Slideshow. Everyday, I'm treated to a scrolling display of the last seven years. It almost hurts to watch my screen sometimes. The memories are so sweet, and time seems to be moving so fast.

So I'm looking at my pictures and treasuring the memories and giving thanks for the people I love. Isn't that the whole point of scrapbooking anyway?