At my job, I spend a lot of time working on spreadsheets. This means that my eyes and hands are moving data from one source to another, or I am organizing that data. This over and over, makes my brain bored. So while I work on those mundane tasks, I have started listening to podcasts. I hopped on the Serial train about 3 episodes in, but there are only a couple of other podcasts I listen to and most of them are an hour long. That leaves me with a lot of spreadsheet hours without something to listen to. 

Then I rediscovered Paperclipping Roundtable. Those in the scrapbooking industry are probably familiar with this podcast. I have heard about it, but never listened to it. In search of new listening material, I played a few episodes. That's where this story comes in. Stacy Julian was on episode #265 and told a story about her son and daughter that made me tear up. It spoke to my heart and reminded me why I love this hobby so much, it's all about the stories. 

That podcast and her story are what bring me to tell this story. It's small and insignificant but has been a part of my daily life for over 10 years, and I feel like now is a good time to share it.

This key chain has been on my key ring for 

10 years...

4 months...

and a few days...

Ever since my friend Sarah, gave it to me. 

I had just started working with Sarah and I never shut up about this totally-amazing-hunky guy I was dating. Sarah had gone on a weekend trip and bought this for me at a gas station I believe. She kind of bought as a joke, or a job at the fact that we had only been dating a little while and already I was enamored. A few days after she gave it to me, he broke up with me. We broke up a few more times in between that and the engagement. But, this key chain stayed with me. It's pretty rough around the edges but I've had it so long, I stop noticing it....until Zoe started reading.

 When she read it the first time she started crying. Her feelings were hurt because her name was not on it. I lovingly tried to explain that it was given to me before she was born, before we were even married, but her little heart broke. She asked me through tears, "Do you love me as much as you love Daddy?"

Stories are what compel me to scrapbook and to take pictures. I love that feeling of looking back at photos or scrapbook pages and remembering all those feelings that I had on that day. I love remembering all the funny things Zoe said, or TV shows we used to quote. All of those things, while not vital, are treasured.

If you are not currently memory keeping, I encourage you to start. Scrapbooking, Project Life, Photo a Day, even just a journal, Facebook or Instagram - I plead with you to do something. I have done my best to catalog a lot of my own childhood memories, but there are some things that I wish my parents had documented.

This is your reminder to start now. Don't worry about going back, but set a goal to do it from now on. I promise, your future self with thank you!

XOXO,