How Sweet Is This?

This is a page from my four-year old daughter's scrapbook. She has her own unique style (as you can see!) . She has done about 12 pages now and they are all very unique. I have asked her several times if she wants me to help her and she does not. She is content doing her thing and honestly, I know that this will be a fantastic keepsake of when she was four. It makes me smile when I look through her book -- and some days, I can feel a little lump in my throat too!

I happened to go to a scrapbooking site yesterday that I very rarely visit. A thread caught my eye about a younger lady that had passed away (in her 40s I think). A friend had encouraged her for years to scrapbook for her children and she just never got around to it. She got sick and her friends got together to make pages for her and she was going to record her stories. However, she died rather suddenly (sooner than expected) and never had a chance to write anything.

The thread went on to remind everyone of two things. And in my opinion, they are so important and so true. First -- life is short and we never really know how long we have. Unexpected things happen every single day. As a procrastinator and someone who unfortunately feels very unorganized a lot of the time, I feel the need to remind myself of this often. Time is precious and short. Am I using it wisely?

Second -- and this is why I shared a page from my daughter's scrapbook -- it doesn't really matter what supplies we use or what our style is or if others accept our work or if we are published. Why do we scrapbook? To leave lasting memories for our loved ones, right? Does it matter if we have the latest paper or products? Not really. It really bothers me when people get nasty and judgemental about the work of others. We each have our own tastes and not everything will appeal to us. But there is no right or wrong when it comes to creating pages. If you're doing it, that's what matters.

I think the thread also struck home with me because of my 37-year old cousin with cancer. I got a call yesterday that she has taken a turn for the worse yet again. The aunt that called is a nurse who has worked with many cancer patients. She wanted me to brace myself, because in her opinion, time is very, very short for my cousin. So I am apprehensively waiting for a phone call. I feel so agitated these days, and I think it's partly because I'm expecting this dreaded phone call. And though I'm expecting it, I do not feel prepared for it.

Okay -- enough for today. And as I end my post, I want each of you who reads this to know how much I appreciate your friendship.

Wishing you a wonderful, happy, safe and peaceful weekend!