I'm just not a scrapbooking momma

(Let me preface this post with the disclaimer that I do not believe the topic discussed below is significant or life altering in any way. It's just something that crossed my radar this week so I'm going to ramble about it for a few minutes. No hard feelings if you get bored while reading and move on to a more interesting topic discussed on a cooler blog.)

Twice this week I have participated in conversations with other mothers about the all important choice to scrapbook the details of our children's lives. I'm not sure when the scrapbooking industry took off, but it must be a big deal. I don't have any statistics or hard figures to support the scrapbooking boom - just my observations of the number of stores selling scrapbooking materials, parties thrown just for the sake of gathering together to scrapbook and the number of scrapbooking catalogs and magazines that come across my desk. Of course, this hobby may have been all the rage for years, even decades, but if it was before August 2003 then I was oblivious.

I love looking through the Creative Memories catalogs and scanning the pages and pages of colorful ideas about page layouts, color schemes, seasonal themes, cutesie decorative applications and all the stuff that one can purchase to make their scrapbook unique and special. I've been down the scrapbook supply aisle at Hobby Lobby perusing the nifty scrapbook pages, the rows and rows and rows of lettering and thingies that can give your scrapbook page the perfect touch. I look at the Disney stickers of the princesses, Mickey and Minnie, the castle and I think about how the pictures I will take of the kids on our vacation (coming up in 2 weeks) would look so cute displayed on all this . . . stuff. I begin to think that maybe I should give this another try, be a good mommy and make an attempt at this.

Yep, I've tried the scrapbooking thing. Emma Kate was born in August - I made it through Christmas of that year and I don't think I've opened it since then. I was never really happy with the colors and layout I chose. It looked so . . . random. Nothing like the clever sample pages I had seen in the scrapbooking catalogs. Truly, the pressure was getting to me. I felt a little guilty for a while that I had "failed" at scrapbooking. Won't Emma Kate feel ashamed that her mom couldn't even put together a decent scrapbook for her? Isn't part of being a good mom being crafty? Yes, I really thought I was not meeting the "good-mommy-standard" because I couldn't do this. The honest truth is that I just don't like to scrapbook.

Well, life has rolled on and each day is more hectic than the last. I've learned to let go of the scrapbook fiasco and tell myself, "it's just not my thing." Now I have two little angel faces to snap pictures of. I feel pretty good when I get the pictures from the camera to the computer and organized by month. I really get proud of myself when I upload a few shots to Shutterfly and send them out to friends and family. Yes siree, I am goooooood.

All of this brings me back to the conversations I had with other moms. During both of these conversations I learned that there are other moms who say scrapbooking isn't their thing either!!! Yes, I can hear the collective gasp from all the scrapbooking mommies (well, not really ALL the mommies, because I don't know how many scrapbookers might read this other than Shelby). Validation is mine!!!! I hate to admit it, but I am someone who likes others to validate my opinions. Sad, I know.

So, if you're a non-crafty, anti-scrapbook mom feeling left out when all your scrapbooky friends are partying down at a gathering just for scrapbookers, give me a call. We'll enjoy a glass of wine and I'll show you pictures of the kids on my computer!