off the wall question...

Theresa, I think that scrapbooking is something you should want to come back to because it's fun, because you can't wait to see the final results. Sometimes scrapbooking can be therapeutic if you are grieving. I don't read that feeling from your post. Instead I get that you have an unfinished project that you are not sure if you should step way from or force yourself to finish.

My advice...set it aside and find a fun project that keeps you wanting to come back to it. Save the family reception pictures for your kid albums or to incorporate into other projects.

If you feel you HAVE to finish the album in order to find closure and move on...then finish it. However, I recommend that you cut down on the contents. If you have hundreds of photos, create a mini-album or select a dozen that reflected the happy points you want to remember. It was never a requirement to scrap every picture taken that day, right!

Good luck to you!

-- Amy L.

MommyRazz wrote:

Theresa -

I don't think I can give any advice better than Amy's.

What I can say though, as I've recently learned how amazingly FREEING it is to just allow yourself to give up on a project, and say "you know what, it's not something I'm going to finish, so I am going to stop worrying about it." (this is hard for me, as evidinced byt the stacks of unfinished projects I have, of course...;) )

So - if you don't think you will enjoy it as much as somethign else, I say, let go, and free yourself. :)

Good luck with what eer you decide!

Jessica

Amy > Theresa,

Good job Amy. Sorry Theresa. I'm not good on the advice either. I had different feelings that go both ways. One - I see setting aside until you feel you want to do it. Maybe so that your kids can see what their parents where like when they got married. That is if there is still a good relationship with them. But then again, if it was a terrible marriage and you don't want to remember any of it, I would save the pictures of your family and friends at the reception to use in other layouts. I'm sure you will come up with the right answer that is best for you. Good luck.

Hugs.

A friend of mine just got divorced this year and when they had the big neighborhood clean up (once a year we can pile any trash we have on the curb and big garage truck comes by and picks it up. Good time to clean out the garage.) the friend shocked me when I saw in her pile framed professional pictures of her wedding. I know the emotion behind why she would throw them out there, but I thought she has 2 sons and that is their history laying out in that pile of garbage. So, I think if it were me I would save the pictures to give to my children. Maybe make a simple album, but I don't think I'd have the heart for a fancy album.

My 2 cents, Lynne

I agree with Amy. Those pictures are part of who your kids are and their heritage, BUT you should only scrap them when the time is right, if it ever is right.

I'm thinking that this is the last thing you should stress about doing. Find something that puts a smile on your face and lifts your spirits. IF that is scrapping, great, if that is sitting and reading a book, do that. With work, the boys and everything else, it's important that you take care of yourself and that means mentally as well as physically. Do whatever pampers your mind!

Big hugs, M-C

I really appreciate everyone's comments here!! It truly makes a difference. I guess I was looking at it from a "If I closed the chapter" does that mean I have to close the book *as in finish it* or can it just *be*.

I have quite a few jobs currently lined up and have the next few months pretty tightly mapped for time, but it's also going to mean a new car about Christmas-time for me. Yeahhh!! I think the one "open" project that I DO want to get done sooner rather than later is the book I have started for my MIL and her hubby. They are wonderful and have been great to me from the beginning and still are. That will be a joy to work on as when they were here last year, the kids and I spent most of the week with them while EX was working, with friends or otherwise busy. So, most of those pics are grandparents and kids. I have it sorted and organized, but was prior to this, too depressed to even think about scrapping it! Now, I'm not. (Now, I am just too busy.)

You can say that I have become re-energized about life and it almost feels like I want to do EVERYTHING today. NOW! Once I started doing things, it's like a snowball going downhill....doesn't wanna stop anytime soon.

Thanks for all the love! all around

:-) Theresa (aka Mommyrazz)

M-C wrote:

I'm not good at giving advice for something like this, but I would agree that it would probably be best just to put it away for now. It's not something you even have to finish - you can always just leave it to your children. My Mom cut my dad out of every picture in the family album when they were divorced after 13 years of marriage. If my grandmother had not had a few copies of their wedding photo my siblings and I would have nothing to show for our beginnings. Sandy

The pictures are a part of your children's history, but you don't need to spend all the time and energy on them that a scrapbook would take. Compromise. Just make a photo album, and include some factual journaling. That way the story is there, but you haven't had to spend all your creative energies on it.

G> Ok gang...here's a goofy one for ya!

I'm not real good on advice I think, but I do agree that if it's not going to be fun for you, then don't do it. I would keep the pics, maybe put names with them, and save them for your children. You never know what future generations may be interested in. My Dad's parents split when he was 5, and Grandma remarried. Of course, Dad's step-dad was who I knew as Grandpa. But Grandma had so much hatred towards her ex. Dad and his siblings had Indian reservation rights in CA because their father was part Native American. Grandma sold them, just because she hated him so much. (Of course, my Grandma was a little strange, I'll give her that much.) Thankfully Dad's oldest sister is really into family geneaology, and somehow, got her hands on a bunch of old family photos. Now Dad has copies of them, plus copies of Native American information. You just never know what future generations are going to want to see.

Hi Theresa...I see you have had loads of suggestions from others regarding your question but I thought I would add another dimension worth considering :o) It is not my idea.....I got it from another group today and thought it may help you with your current situation! Personally, I don't generally like to advise people either but I do know I am prone to allowing things to drag on for way too long...and it can hold you back in life!

This solution was suggested in relation to a question posed about having way too many pictures to deal with or to even begin to scrap effectively. Someone suggested that all the pictures could be written to a CD/DVD and a one page LO made around the CD/DVD. It would ensure that the pictures were available in the future if they were required by family, children, etc, while allowing you to effectively move on to a new, positive chapter in your life. If you have a new project set that will be enjoyable and make you happy then that is a brilliant incentive to clear the decks and forge ahead renewed :o) HTH

How about one of those Scrapworks albums so you can put the pages you already completed into it and then on the other pages you can just slide the rest of the pictures in. This way they are all in one place, your kid/kids can look at it but you don't have to scrap it if you don't want to.

I like what Amy says here. The mini album is a great idea. This way you can highlight your favorite pictures or memories of that day.

Amy > Theresa,

It's entirely up to you, but since you have kids I'd think that it might be something that you'd want to do for them rather than for yourself... (it's okay if you hate the SOB but he's still their father and kids like to know about where they came from...) But if you're still PO'ed at him and angry/unhappy about the divorce then it's not a good time to do the album - put everything away in a big box and come back to it in a few years when the immediate pain's wearing off, same as if somebody died.

That's a difficult one Theresa. I guess I would just leave it for a while if I was in your shoes. Don't through anything away right now. Your marriage was still a part of your life and in a year or two you may regret discarding stuff that might be hurtful to look at now.

Good Luck Hugz Judy, SA