Finish a Project

My cousin recently sent me this photo of a quilt she just finished making for her oldest son. Cool, huh?

And it got me thinking. Finishing projects is really something that makes people happy.

This weekend, my daughter and I planted a little herb garden for our windowsill. Nothing big...we just planted a little cilantro, basil, and chives. But every time I walk by the little planter, it gives me a tiny happiness boost. And I bet that every time my cousin walks by the cute quilt in her son's room, she feels the same way.

Little projects are fun. I have lots of friends who knit or quilt or sew, and I really wish I did those things, because having a little finished product every now and then is satisfying. (I actually tried to learn to knit two separate times in my life, and I came to realize that I'm just not math-y enough to do it. All the counting and the patterns were just not my forte. Sad!)

So I've started a few projects that appeal to me and don't require counting or crazy amounts of concentration on my part. I'm working on my daughter's scrapbook, so that I can Be the Memory Keeper. I'm working on an art project involving my family tree, so that I can pass down family stories. Just the anticipation of these projects coming to fruition has already brought me a lot of joy. (I learned that anticipating fun brings me happiness, so I now love to plan fun events way in advance so that I can anticipate the fun for a while...it's, well, ...fun!)

So, I may never be a great quilter, or knitter. But working on my own little artsy, creative projects is pretty satisfying, too!


What project are you working on (or thinking about starting) right now?

Be the Memory Keeper

After we read books at bedtime, my daughter often asks, "Mom, can you tell me the story of when I was born?" She loves to hear about how she cried right away, and how the doctor said, "Oh, she's so strong!" (She's also interested in how exactly she got out of my belly, but we're glossing that part over for, oh, say, the next 10 years!)

When I visit my niece, too, she often asks for me to tell stories of when she was little. Since she was adopted, we don't really have the full details of her birth, but we try our best to recount a story that is as close to what happened as we know from the info we do have. And, of course, we have lots of cute stories from when she was little and called me "cheechay," and called Flannery her "baby panawee cousin."

There's something mysterious and magical about hearing happy stories about yourself when you were too little to remember everything. I hope that my daughter and niece create a life story in their head that includes how everyone around them cherished them, and enjoyed them, and regarded them as interesting at every stage of their growing up.

My sister has done a good job of being the "memory keeper" for her daughter. She saves artwork and school papers, takes pictures of every little fun outing, and made an adorable scrapbook of my niece's life so far.

I, on the other hand, am pretty good about taking pictures, but poor Flannery's artwork and school papers are strewn all over our house in random stacks and bins, with virtually no hope of ever being labeled with the correct date for posterity. Also, I recently discovered that the storage container labeled "for Flannery's scrapbook" in our storage closet actually holds random pictures from my high school, college, wedding, and grad school days, with a few photos and pieces of artwork on top that really are for her scrapbook.

Yup. I am an organizational wizard.

Anyway, I was inspired by a clearance sale on adorable Scrapbooks at Target today, and I took the plunge. I bought a scrapbook. A cute, girly, striped pink and green and brown scrapbook.

Then, I came home, and while Flannery was napping, I started organizing the few mementos I've saved for her so far into coherent scrapbook groupings. Like a lot of projects I keep putting off because I "don't have enough time," I was amazed at how quickly the project started coming together. In about an hour, I had about 10 groupings that I can one day turn into cute little pages about such topics as "the great-grandmothers," "with the grandparents," "Easter," and, my favorite, "how I've grown" (featuring paint-handprints from various ages).

I really can't believe how quickly my unorganized box of stuff became a project in-process.

And I'm excited to sit down and document some happy memories that can become part of Flannery's life story in her head.


What memories from your childhood help you define yourself?