The last category that I scrapbook is the messy bits.
It's scary to expose the messy parts of your life. Even when you mask them with pretty paper, flowers, and rhinestones, it's hard to admit that you're not perfect, that you failed, that you are longing, that you're discouraged, that you're worn out.
It seems ironic to showcase these things. Wouldn't it be easier to just have a good cry and quietly hide them in the corner?
You know, they say that it's good for kids to see their parents fight. It shows them that it's okay to argue and teaches them how to resolve the conflict and get through it. Dave and I never fought so much as we did during our first year of marriage. It took me by surprise, and it sucked. But we learned A LOT, and now we're much more efficient! (Ha!)
When you scrapbook your wedding, you automatically think of your first dance, gazing into each other's eyes, twirling, walking down the aisle...I can't help but get swallowed up in newlywed optimism and bliss. But when you scrapbook messy parts of your life, you relive them, too. And that's just not as much fun.
But it is important. Sometimes it's just for yourself. If I can get it all down, put it into words, then I can put it behind me. Sometimes it's for other people. Years down the road, my daughter can look through my album and realize that I had (have) struggles, too. Sometimes it's a mile marker. Once I've moved through that failure, I can look back on my page and feel good about where I've come.
When I make these pages, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer. My goal is to be a little honest.
(read the post here - which was my first ever!)
(and go to this post here)
(this post is here)
(read the post here.)
I've seen pages from different women showing her fear of flying, her worrying about being a good mother, sadness when her husband is overseas, death of a loved one. I scrapped a page the day after Chrissy (my beloved dog of 14.5 years) died, and it served as a nice bookend.
These messy parts form you to help make you who you are, and while they're not as much fun, they're just as important to your story as graduation or a new house.
Fin.
