Capturing Time in a Book

When my kids were little, I made a gazillion scrapbooks of them.  Okay, I’m not solid on the exact number of albums, but it was a lot.  When we moved and I had to pack, transport, and unpack all the albums, my interest died a little.  Then my boys became teenagers and claimed my scrapbooks were “useless”, “dumb”, and they didn’t want them.  I felt like I’d wasted a great deal of time and energy.  Enter the college girlfriend, Gracie, who later became my daughter-in-law.

This young lady came to visit our humble home and asked to see all the scrapbooks.  My heart skipped a beat or two as I gathered them up and placed them lovingly on our dining room table.  She poured over them with Cameron, pointing to pictures and asking millions of questions.  She scrutinized photo layouts and read each word I’d carefully scribed for eternity.  I can’t speak for Cameron, but I fell in love with Gracie that day.

Not surprisingly, my son took a renewed interest in scrapbooks.  He began making digital scrapbooks for his girlfriend to commemorate most every holiday. Now that they’re married, they continue the tradition together. And I think it’s wonderful!  I haven’t seen them up close--I suspect they are personal and for their eyes only.  But I am thrilled that Cameron has finally come to realize what I’ve known all along.  Pictures are wonderful, but you need the stories preserved with the pictures. Memories fade but words last forever.

You may be wondering about my oldest--the one who finally brought home a girlfriend to pour over his scrapbook albums and delight in his first words and messy first food pictures.  He is also the one who said he will pay for my nursing home but will probably be too busy to visit.  I really never thought he would nurture an appreciation for scrapbooks but I was so wrong.

Before he brought home Kat, Nathan deployed to Egypt. After a year he returned and spied his Army scrapbook album on the dining room table, along with prints of various photos he’d sent me and posted on Instagram.  There were screenshots of text conversations we’d shared as well.  My super smart kid stated the obvious. “So you’re working on my scrapbook album?”  “Yes. I just need some help in putting the photos in chronological order.” 

“Oh, I have no idea when all that stuff happened Mom--just put it however you want.  I don’t care.”  I was not surprised but also not fazed—I’m used to working with absolutely no assistance.  I sorted the photos by category--photos of friends, photos of him working on base, text conversations, photos when we picked him up at the airport.  I began putting them into the album.

The surprise came when Nathan sat down beside me and watched me tape the photos in the album.  Then he began reminiscing about the photos.  I grabbed a piece of paper and pen and started taking some notes.  And those notes went into the album.

You’ll probably guess who was the first person to pick it up and go through it.  Yes, that kid started at the beginning of the album with his basic training pictures and didn’t get up from the table until the end of the album.  He didn’t have much to say about it, but the look on his face said it all.  He was touched that I had taken the time to put this album together for him.  He knew he was loved because of the album.  And really, isn’t that why we all aspire to make scrapbook albums?  Yes, it is to preserve the past and keep our memories alive.  But more than that, these albums show people how much they are loved.

I challenge you to write down the stories that go with your photos. You might never get them into an album, but then again you might. Regardless, you’ll have everything you need right at your fingertips.

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Jann Goar Franklin graduated Russellville High School in 1985 and lives in Grand Cane, Louisiana. She also writes books, which are for sale at www.jannfranklin.com.

You can reach her at jann@jannfranklin.com