Thoughts... as I turn another year older

Here is a picture of me, 34 years ago today, on my 3rd birthday. My parents still have all my baby, toddler and school-age pictures. Some day I'd like to take them and turn them into scrapbooks, mostly so that I can journal the stories, events and importance of my childhood. I'd like to use my parents as a resource for things I can't remember. And, I'd like to do this all for my kids.

It may sound a little self-serving to do a whole album about me, but I keep putting myself in my daughters' place and thinking about how much I would love an entire album of my mom or dad's childhood, with stories even! What a treasure that would be.

We can easily rationalize making baby albums about our own children, they are our pride and joy and we know all the stories to journal. When they look at their own albums and read what each picture is about, they know so much about their own childhoods. I also believe it helps them remember events for longer periods of time.

Why isn't it okay for us to learn about our own stories and record them for future generations? I would not only love this about my own parents, but my in-laws and grandparents, too. It's not only good for story-telling, but I'm sure in the future, it will help with genealogy. Not to mention, it's fun to look at family resemblances. Here's my youngest daughter, who most resembles me, when she celebrated her third birthday!