Scrapbook Memories

 

“The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Auliq Ice

As 2021 winds to a close, I’m grateful to be turning the page to a new year. In many ways, COVID has caused life to feel like a roller coaster this past year, filled with barrel rolls and corkscrews that make it hard to get my bearings. And yet, somewhere between the roller coaster inversions, I’ve been lucky enough to catch my breath and enjoy slower moments visiting new places, spending time with loved ones, and making memories.

As my family can attest, I take a lot of pictures as we’re making memories. I am frequently behind the camera lens, but sometimes will force my family to do a group selfie, or even have my husband step behind the camera to take a pic of me with one or both of the kids. As my son edges closer to his teen years, I’m starting to receive eye rolls and snarky remarks. But simply reminding him that our family’s annual yearbook won’t be complete without said photo stops his grumbling so I can snap the photo. Our scrapbooks are in a prime location near our kitchen, and he’s frequently the one who pulls them down to laugh at something silly from years ago, or even fact check the letter that Santa left beside the cookie plate for him and his sister last year.

My love of photos began at a young age. It began with a polaroid camera during elementary school. I took pictures of family members on Christmas, including my older cousins making goofy faces with my dolls and our whole clan of 30-plus people piled into my grandparents cozy living room. I took pictures of my friends’ hairdos at my makeover birthday party. And I took pictures of my family exploring foreign countries.

When I was in middle school, a friend’s mom loved to scrapbook. During Friday night slumber parties, us girls would creatively arrange and decorate our scrapbook pages. That’s when I caught the bug to not only take pictures, but arrange and convey the event through carefully arranged photos and captions. Throughout my teen years, I continued to build up quite a collection of scrapbooking supplies – zig-zag scissors, 8.5 x 11” and 12 x 12” paper backgrounds, stickers, cardboard photo frames, and colored gel pens. You name it and I had it…I even still have much of it in a rolling plastic container in my basement storage.

I’ve evolved since college, creating digital scrapbooks and printing them for posterity. After our son was born, I was really creative with the yearbook titled “Cole Year 1.” Since then, we’ve simply had an official family yearbook titled “The Lesters 2021.” Throughout the year, I do massive photo uploads to an online scrapbooking site, organizing photos by date, and praying I can fit everything into a maximum 100-page book.

Over the past few days, I’ve narrowed down all of our 2021 photos to the best of the best and a reflection of the most special moments. It reminds me that 2021 has actually been full of special people and places – from our family’s 10-day road trip through the national parks in the Tetons and Yellowstone, to hanging out with family and friends playing at the lake, to meeting our newborn nephew, to my exploring California with friends from different parts of my life. But we’ve also captured joyful moments watching the sun rising over our snow-blanketed yard, sitting around the table dying Easter eggs, and grabbing a quick moment with my both of my kiddos during their school’s fall party.

I try to make sure the most special moments from the year are captured, so that years down the road we will be able to look back at the year that was. Between the smiles, there were challenges and struggles, but hope and joy has endured. As I reflect back on the year I’m memorializing on paper, I know we’ve embraced this tumultuous, yet thrilling, ride. I’ll probably continue to grip tighter than I need to as we brace for the next twist and turn. I’m hopeful for a 2022 where the roller coaster will slow to rolling hills with more chances to create memories of the places I’m in and people I’m with.

Shelley Lester, Photo by Elena Kloppenburg on Unsplash