Family Time

I'm so excited for tonight. Both of my girls are going to scrapbook with me! A neighbor who has her basement set up just for scrapbooking is letting us come over and use her tables and will have her supplies ready for us to purchase, and her supplies there to use. The three of us have all had great adventures this year - Mandy and I have pictures of our trip to Japan, and Robyn has some from her trip to the west coast, touring national parks. We want to preserve them. And so we will spend time arranging these photos in albums to keep them safe and so that we can pull them out and remember these times. We can share them with others.

Like every mom, I cherished the time when they were small and looked to me for all their needs. As they got older, they needed me less and less, and although life got a little bit easier, it was hard to let go. When the children become adults, they go off and lead their own lives, and I was a little bit heartbroken. They're no longer my little girls. I can't dress them in pretty, frilly dresses. I can't wipe their pudgy cheeks when they get into their dinners and get half of it on themselves. And I can't be there to hold them every time they get an "owie".

But they're still my girls. I am so thankful that they both still want to do things with me. Last weekend the three of us explored Art Prize in downtown Grand Rapids. And this weekend we'll work on our pictures together. Later this weekend, they plan to go with their father to visit their grandmother in her new digs at the nursing home. They're good kids, and we look forward to watching them become amazing adults.

We must have done something right. Hallelujah.

Organization of My Mess, Part Two

So I think I have most of my daughter's stuff out of the one room. It's stacked in the living room, since she hasn't been here. She'll probably tell me to toss it all. I'll have to deal with that when the time comes - or maybe bring it to Goodwill. I even got ambitious and emptied her stuff out of the bathroom. I came up with all kinds of makeup, which she told me to toss, and a bunch of medications, which I tossed right away. I now have lots of drawer space in the bathroom!

Now I have to organize my own stuff. I have a bunch of scrapbooking stuff. That will go in the large file cabinet in the other bedroom. Now I have all kinds of fabric to sort. Most of that should probably go in the basement, in the large vertical files. But it's so nice to have it handy when I have the chance to work on it!

I've got some really pretty fabric that will make nice skirts. Last week I got a pattern I'd like to use to make the skirts with. And I've got some pretty Asian-inspired fabric to use for quilting. And there's a bunch of heavy-duty canvas that I started making tote bags with. But I've had to put my sewing and crafting on hold while I attempt to organize. By the time I’m done I’ll either forget about my skirt and bag and quilt projects, or I won’t know where I put them. And that makes me unhappy.

But in order to make my children happy, and keep them away from my stuff, I have to be unhappy and organize it. I guess that’s the way it goes. They seem to think if it’s organized, I’ll be happier. Okay, maybe eventually. I just hope they let me keep my laptop out.

Maybe I’ll hide it in one of the bathroom drawers I just emptied out.