Submitted by NSA member Janice, here's a reminder of why we all got into scrapbooking in the first place:
I got an email yesterday from a friend about a lady in her church. She is 48 years old - married with a 17 yr old daughter and a 13 yr old son. She was diagnosed with melanoma years back and had been cancer free for 5 years. Then this spring, the cancer reared its ugly head and reappeared in her liver.
She (her name is Pat) had progressively gotten worse so her best friend, Lisa, (a scrapper) had sent an email out to the ladies in the church about holding a crop this Sat to get albums completed for the family.
As I am still unemployed, I am blessed with time at them moment. I have other plans on Saturday, so I called Lisa and told her that I would be happy to complete as many pages as I could between now and then.
Lisa and I met next to the highway last night and she gave me baggies full of photos with just a date and the name of the event on each. Lisa told me that she had been after Pat for years to scrapbook! Pat kept saying she had plenty of time. Soi she put it off. But Pat was becoming confused and Lisa was saying that she wanted the album done by Saturday - that they needed to get it to Pat so that she could tell all of the stories to go with the pictures in the baggies.
So I stayed up late last night and got busy again once I took my son to school. The phone rang. It was Lisa. Pat unexpectedly died. Today. Before she could ever tell any of the stories of the pictures I held in my hands.
Kinda makes being published and the quest for the latest product seem kinda silly, doesn't it? This is what scrapping is all about to me. And why journaling is so very important. And why I need to stop spending hours on a page to make it perfect in the hope that maybe someday someone might think the page is worth publishing.
I guarantee you Pat's husband and her children could care less if the page has been published or ever will be published. They also could care less whether it's Basic Grey paper and Prima flowers.
They will be lost, however, without the story that only Pat could tell.
Thanks for sharing this. I too have malignant Melanoma cancer and are in the final stages of the battle. I have a 3 and 4 year old boys and I have ALWAYS been very passionate as to WHY I scrapbook. Sometimes my pictures don't get laid on the page completely straight but I just let it be because I know that when I die (which will most likely be before they grow up) it is more important that they have the stories to go with those photos that mommy couldn't lay down straight.
You are so right.... We never know when our time is up whether it's Melanoma or a freak accident, I have always said the papers and embellies just don't matter but sad as it is the industry sees it so differently. Yes every now and then you will see articles in the SB mags about how important it is to journal, I just wish they would emphasize the importance of scrapbooking more often.
I think it was wonderful what you did and trust me when I say I am sure Pat's family will be able to find much comfort in what you have done.
A group of ladies did the same for me when my cancer first spread and presented it to me at a fundraiser I had organized for our local Women's shelter. I hold those albums very close and share them with my boys all the time. It gave me a chance to take time off from working on albums and spent that time with my babies.
GOD bless you for having done that and GOD bless your friend for all that she has done as well.
I will keep you, your friend and Pat's family in my prayers.
Very Fondly,
Christine Uporsky
live each day to the fullest because tomorrow may never come.
Posted by: Christine Uporsky | September 07, 2006 at 01:29 AM
Thank you for posting this article! It describes perfectly my feelings about scrapping. I could care less about my layouts perfection it is all about the story. My husband passed away Jan. 2002 from Malanoma he was diagnosed In Nov. 2001 and those two short months were so precious to me. I kept a journal and one day when my children and I are ready we will scrap the journal as the final healing process. That people is what scrapping is about! It is about healing, memoralizing, and so that we never forget the good times in all the bad. My prayers go out for Pat's family and for you Christine.
Posted by: Tina Parker | September 11, 2006 at 07:48 PM