TheBanyanTree: Kodak Moment

[auntiesash]

This musing's muse:
http://open.salon.com/blog/moniquec/2010/08/23/stealing_photos

When I was pregnant with the boychild, out shopping for maternity clothes, I
was asked by a shop owner if I would be a model in a fashion show at the
"Gramma, Mommy, & Me" event happening at the convention center.  She said I
would walk 3 outfits and I would get to chose one of those outfits to keep.

I decided to go for it and my sister, Kate went along for moral support and
to take pictures.  We've always taken lots of pictures, so it made sense
that I would have my own paparazzi.  Maybe we knew that mom's mind would
leave us and those photos would be an important link.  Besides, Kate had a
brand new camera she wanted to try out.  She was about to quit her long time
corporate job and go off find elephants.  Between first baby and first trip
to Africa, there were pictures to be taken and Kate had gone all out on a
fabulous camera.

It was a huge conference - hundreds of vendors and thousands of people.
 There was every gizmo and gadget for babies and mommies and mommies-to-be.
 Every parental concern you could imagine (and several that were invented
just for the occasion) had 3 services and 4 pieces of equipment to ease your
mind.  It was mind boggling.

After my moment onstage, Kate and I took advantage of our free passes and
wandered through the booths.  Befuddled by the fluorescent lights,
intimidated by the crowd, overwhelmed by the merchandise, and...at least a
little bit... alarmed by the thought that maybe I NEEDED all of this
stuff... some of this stuff...ohmigosh what does this stuff even DO???, we
sought refuge in the Tupperware booth.

Phew!  I cheerful bought a Shape Sorter and some sippy cups.  Right next to
the Tupperware, there was a booth that was mostly empty.  It looked like
they had children's books... maybe encyclopedia??  We couldn't tell for
sure, but there were chairs and bottled water, so we didn't care much what
they were selling.

What they showed us were really beautiful albums.  Albums of pictures with
some writing and some stickers.  They talked to us about protecting old
photos and showed us the ill effects of the "magnetic" photo albums.  Kate
and I exchanged worried looks.  We were both picturing all those family
photos, carefully filed away in plastic sleeves.  oh my.

They showed us the photo safe pens, paper, and adhesives.  They even had a
small selection of stickers and die-cut shapes to decorate the pages.
 Happily, we signed up for an upcoming workshop.  No, we don't want to host
a party but we are happy to tag along to a party that the sales rep would be
giving.

According to their website, Creative Memories was founded in 1987.  Even so,
it is save to say that NO ONE I knew had heard of them in 1993, nor had
"scrapbooking" become a word, much less a multi-million dollar industry.  We
were at the leading edge of that wave, but to us, it seemed a fun way to
funnel the craft gene we got from mom into a project that was actually
useful.  The energy we put into protecting and displaying our photos would
otherwise be spent creating reindeer-clothespin-recipe-holders and
pipe-cleaner-penguin-refrigerator-magnets.

In the 16 years since, I'm sure I've spent thousands of dollars on the
hobby.  I've made dozens of scrapbooks and have dozens more to make.  I'll
never be finished, but if Ned needs a baby picture or I want to tell him a
story, we can walk over to the shelf and there is the book.

I've made little albums for family and friends.  A wedding album, a "first
day of grad-school" album...  My scrapbooking and layout skills have tied
into memorial power points and corporate Christmas cards.  THe boychild has
acquired excellent cropping, journaling, and color blocking skills, useful
for sprucing up "The history of the Alphabet" and "Your Mesopotamian
Breakfast" displays.  My dad's 85th birthday trip to Montana, Kate's green
belt test, and the Banyan Tree's loving tribute to Cecil... all the
celebrations and storytelling came through pictures.

I have all the tools, all the toys... the paper, the stickers, the deckle
scissors and the acid free glue.

Monique... if you still have that box of pictures, I would love nothing more
than to spend time with you making the baby...toddler...childhood...teen
album that you should have had.  I want to see the picture.  I want to hear
the stories.  I know that Andrew wants to hear the stories too.

Let's set a date, babe.  Maybe a weekend, so we can just spread out and dive
in.  It's either that or I start making aluminum-beer-can visors and
crocheted toilet paper covers, and nobody wants that.

xoxo
sash

-- 
Live to the point of tears.
- Albert Camus

Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to
the world.
- Voltaire