The eternal scrapbook
Several years ago in California my wife and I drove past a store called Scrapbook World. We had quite a laugh over that one. Who in their right mind, would open a business selling scrapbook supplies? Surely they'd be out of business in a year, right? Well, the joke was on us, because more and more people have been feverishly mounting their memories into scrapbooks, and buying boatloads of supplies in the process.
That memory has me thinking about, well, memories. My family's memories, that is, and how to preserve them. I have no interest in the modern version of the quilting bee --- the scrapbook party --- but I do want to be organized, to be sure that photos and video and all that ephemera I throw in drawers will be accessible to our kids down the road.
It's a daunting task, especially when what you really want to do is relive the good old days, and not necessarily chronicle them. I like to keep myself in the here and now, thinking about the future more than what was, but I'm finding great value, and even fun, in preserving the past.
Today's stuff is tomorrow's old stuff, so if you've ever wished your parents and grandparents had been more organized, more prolific with a camera, or had access to today's technology during yesteryear, give some serious thought to what you're doing now. But really, you can always organize later. Commit those images to film or bytes, and squirrel them away if you can't get out to Scrapbook World just yet. Better to have that ephemera than not. Just don't forget to first enjoy these moments in real time.
