scrapbooking memories

In one of my sleepless spells the other night, I read this article from the New York Times. The author is discussing how many thousands of photographs she has of her children, from exotic trips to the everyday mundane, and how impossible it is to catalogue or even maintain these photographs. It reminded me of a 60 Minutes clip I saw about a year ago on how oldest children in families get the most attention from their parents throughout their life, and how the oldest child statistically has their scrapbook finished or up-to-date when the other children do not. Like scrapbooking was an indicator of how much a mother loves her child.
I've been an semi-interested observer in the scrapbooking phenomena. Some people are extremely creative, and scrapbook pages are truly works of art. It's fun to look at other people's scrapbooks. But I think it's strange how people feel guilty about not being up-to-date with their scrapbooks, or (like me) sort of guilty that I don't do it.

It connects to a larger question I think about. Do photographs commemorate or make a memory? When you look back at a photograph of something you've done, does it remind you of your experience or is it the only part of your memory that is left? I have some photographs that revive memories, and some photographs that I only took because I feel obligated to, and the picture has become the memory.

My friend Megan and I have discussed how, for some, scrapbooking is a way to make them feel like they are a happy family with golden memories, even if it's not necessarily true. Only beautiful moments, well-captured shots, or posed pictures make it into scrapbooks. The real day-to-day stuff that makes up the majority of our lives isn't framed beautifully with paper and stickers. Is it because we don't want to remember it? Or because we're trying to re-create our memories to include only the beautiful parts? Or am I reading too much into it? Is it just a fun activity to do?

I'm not inclined to take pictures. We'll see what happens when the babies come. I feel obligated to take cute photos to post here on the blog, send to family memories, and yes, to put in their scrapbooks. But I think their books are eventually going to become like the ones my mom put together for us - plastic sleeves with slots for the pictures in binders. They're mostly chronological. But no fluff.

I was given two gorgeous scrapbooks for the twins with pages created for their important "firsts," and I'm grateful to have them because I would never have made anything so lovely myself, and they are beautiful.

Anyway. Just thinking.