There's Never a Wish Better Than This

I don't actually expect to live to one hundred. I don't know that I would want to. But the question as to the number of years I have in total is out there, and at the 50 year mark, I know I have spent more than what I have left. I always think about that point in the movie, The Bucket List, where Morgan Freeman's character talks about being part of the 1% of the population that wants to know when they die, and then when faced with the truth realizes he was wrong. He, like the vast majority of the others, actually does not want to know. 

I'm not trying to be morbid. Not at all. I accept my age, and all that it entails, and honestly what I am focused on now is making sure I have as much life in my days as I can possibly have. I think about working, not working, about how working is such a *waste* of time....And I think about how I could spend my time if I had more of it, and I think about what is the best use of my time, and I think about what I want to be sure and do while I can, and finally, I think about remembering the years that I have already had. Of savoring the days past, and the days to come, and the one that I have today.

I have always loved compare and contrast/then and now layouts. I didn't know to do them really until Stacy Julian introduced me to the concept at Creating Keepsakes University in Houston in 2006. But, since then I enjoy creating one whenever I get the chance. When my July CREATE assignment rolled in, and included a layout with journaling inspired by a song, I immediately thought of Five for Fighting's "You Only Got a Hundred Years", and I knew it would be a then to now layout, and I decided to actually make it about me. It's hard to scrap about me, partially because there are few photos, and partially because while I don't mind parading my family around, I am fairly private as an individual. ;-) Oxymoron? Yes, please. 

The lyrics of this song are ones I never tire of reading.

"100 Years" 

I'm 15 for a moment

Caught in between 10 and 20

And I'm just dreaming

Counting the ways to where you are

I'm 22 for a moment

And she feels better than ever

And we're on fire

Making our way back from Mars

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to lose

15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

I'm 33 for a moment

Still the man, but you see I'm a "they"

A kid on the way, babe.

A family on my mind

I'm 45 for a moment

The sea is high

And I'm heading into a crisis

Chasing the years of my life

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to lose yourself

Within a morning star

15 I'm all right with you

15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

Half time goes by

Suddenly you’re wise

Another blink of an eye

67 is gone

The sun is getting high

We're moving on...

I'm 99 for a moment

And dying for just another moment

And I'm just dreaming

Counting the ways to where you are

15 there's still time for you

22 I feel her too

33 you’re on your way

Every day's a new day...

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to choose

Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

And I know not all of the lyrics apply precisely to me. They are, after all, sung by a man. But the concept in the song lyrics strikes such a chord, and the idea of going from 15 to 100, spanning through the years of your life, is so rich to me that I love to revel in the thoughts, and in the years, and to dissect a moment of my life here and there. When I began the layout, I wasn't entirely sure what I would find when I mined the data of my photos. 15, 22, 33, 45. Random integers. Numbers in a string. Ages of my life. Stages of me. 

{I would be remiss here if I didn't insert, in full transparency, a little of my battle with weight gain. I have been on the losing, or winning, end of the diet battle my entire adult life.} So when I say I didn't know what I would find, I literally didn't know what I would find. I was particularly pleased to discover that these numbers represented some of my "lean" years. ;-) I also worked within the {few} pictures I had of me at these ages to select photos to represent the different roles I have had: daughter (15), wife (22), mom (33), and working scrapbooker (45). I loved pulling together this snapshot of segments of my life. Ages on a page. Numbers in a row. Parts of me as I have been.

I have been blessed, no doubt at all, with a "good ride" so far. I can't see ahead. I can only take in this day, make a few plans for the near future, and remember my stories of the past. I do plan to eek out all of life that I can, all that God gives to me. I do hope to get another few decades out. I'd like to need to do a companion layout to this one. Do you think I can? Will I still be scrapbooking in 30 years? I am not certain of what is ahead. But, I know as long as I can, I will be savoring my days, and striving to tell some of the stories therein.

There's never a wish better than this....when you only got a hundred years to live.

You Only Got a Hundred Years to Live ~ Snapshots of Me ~ July 2015

This layout was featured in the July issue of Create by Scrapbook Generation which can be seen here on their website. 

Sketch Credit: Scrapbook Generation 

Paper: Authentique, Pebbles

Title Font: American Typewriter, Mahogany Script

Snickerdoodle Sunday

It's another Sunday morning here, where I sit and marvel over how quickly a Saturday has said both hello and goodbye. I know if I could invent a way to slow down a Saturday that I could retire from work and become a full-time blogger. ;-) Alas, every day holds the same amount of hours and we are left striving to make the most of the best ones, and rush through the bad ones.

It feels a little like a Saturday here, as my husband has headed out for the rare non-Christmas season Sunday workday. Something about pre-sale pick-up day and he'll see me around 5:30. It's okay, though. I'm not alone. I have been embracing the camaraderie and collective creativity of a crafty weekend spent in the comfort of my own home among the ladies I treasure the most, my mom and my two sisters.

In 2006, I went to CKU, and then my mom and one of my sisters and I went to Creative Escape, and then I began thinking, "Why pay to go play when we could play together at one another's homes?" We did a few get togethers over a couple of years in the 2008-2010 range, and then life got a little busy. In 2011, I believe, we began a crafty weekend with our cousins, but something about the nest emptying and my house resonating in silence had me longing to get my mom and my two sisters back here and once again craft together as just the four of us.

They arrived Friday afternoon and I morphed my great room into a craft room and we have had a relaxing and wonderful time, just being together. One sister is working on appliqué projects, and one sister is quilting, and mom and I are scrapbooking. Truman is the weekend mascot, and hasn't let up in his pursuit of bunnies or anxiety over strange noises, so it seems like all is well in the world. This morning the four of us are going to brunch together, and I hope to squeeze in a photo shoot, and the day will go all too quickly I am sure. It has been a wonderful weekend, and leaves me wondering when we can do it again.

I have spent this weekend, and the last month or so, working on a vacation album. {I do my Month in Review layouts in the nooks and crannies of time. I did finish February and March two weekends ago. They come together quickly and I love how they document our life, encapsulating the high points.} But, this vacation album project is just that - a project. It has taken me all of the weekend to get my titles cut, and weeded off the Silhouette mat, taped together, and adhered to the layout page. I should wrap that up today and then move on to finishing up my journaling. 1/3 of that is done, and 2/3 needs to be typed up. Then I'll print them all out and put them down. 

My hope is to finish this album on or before NSD. {Which is just around the corner! Can't wait to play along online with SG!} I started this album in March and have photos and paper on 71 pages, and my title and itinerary page are complete. I now can say I have titles on all but a handful of those spreads that comprise the 71 pages. It's a lot of work in a relatively short amount of time, even though it feels like it has taken awhile. A peek at the album is below - the title page and the itinerary page. I am eager to finish it, and move on to the next vacation, because three weeks from today we leave for our 2015 family vacation, and I don't like to be so far "behind" on these trip albums. 

Yes, in three weeks we head out. Both boys are in different but final phases of their semesters. Philip is in the midst of final exams and Andrew is wrapping up his coursework and prepare for finals. Philip will finish on the 28th and Andrew will finish on or around the 8th of May, depending on his finals schedule. Philip arrives home on May 12 and Andrew arrives home on May 15. I am ready to see those boys and have some undivided time away together, working hard on resting and relaxing and having fun. It's hard to believe another year of their college life is done, but when I factor in that we are 3/8 of the way finished with paying for college, I can get a little excited. Needless to say, the next few weeks will be a little bit of a whirlwind, and I have lots of lists going on paper and in my head.

The sun is about to break over the tree top, my coffee cup has emptied, and two of my three houseguests have awakened and joined me. I better wrap up and get going on one of those lists here in Scrap Central. Today the weather is supposed to be another glorious day, as yesterday was, and the warm bright sun has been a wonderful relief after a week of stormy skies and pouring some much needed rain. What's going on in your world today? Anything scrappy happening? Are you with me?

P.S. "LIKE" my penny{scraps} FaceBook page {the coral "f" button above} to follow me for blog updates!

Our Bite of the Big Apple ~ NYC Family Vacay ~ July 2011

Sketch Credit: Scrapbook Generation

Paper: Simple Stories

Title Font: Rochester, Arial

Your Dreams Stay Big, Your Worries Stay Small

That's my boy there in the green jacket, with the messenger bag and the columbian blue baseball cap worn backwards. That's my boy, away at college, living a life some might say he was born to live. He has always been fairly independent, circling back to the parental units much like a homing pigeon, touching base as needing, remembering where he's from, but not necessarily wanting or needing to hang out there. Big on friendships and social scenes, small on hanging out with us. 

Now, he does love a good family vacation. And he does love us. But just sitting here, chilling with us, not so much. When he hit middle school, he really went into his room for the evenings for the most part, or to the media room. He's my gamer. Not one for TV shows or hanging out downstairs. I took him at face value, never trying to mold him differently, but missing him each night as he headed upstairs. Or, as he aged, headed out to work, or out with friends. 

I think one of the benefits of college is that when they do come home, they do come home. To rest, to recharge, to remember. I think both of my boys really hunkered down at home during Christmas break. Besides family gatherings and church, they didn't really go hang out with friends or do anything. I was surprised, but secretly I loved it. I am glad for the times when we are all back together under one roof.

I was never surprised that Philip planned to go to college. There was never any question. We live in a school district where 94% of graduates go on to some college level work. They are prepped for that. In the fifth grade, you set a trajectory for middle school and at that point, they begin pointing you to college work preparation. I remember quite a few hard discussions with middle school teachers, whom I thought were asking too much of a twelve-year-old. They calmly and firmly let me know that their job was to prepare them for the rigors of high school. And, on the few times that I did talk to one of the boys' high school teachers, they calmly and firmly let me know their job was to prepare them for the rigors of college. And I can say both boys thus far have adapted very well to college. Thank you Tax Dollars, and thank you to their teachers.

When Philip hit the youth group at church, he formed a friendship with Jordan, or J-Money as he was called back in the day. Gosh, that was eight years ago, back in 2007. See, I was the horrible mom that held both of my boys back from starting school one year. So, they were slightly more mature, and both boys connected well with older kids. Philip let me know on numerous occasions, as did Andrew, that I had done them wrong and they were graduating one year late. {If I had it to do over again, I would do the very same thing. Thank you Collins.} At any rate, Philip felt in his heart that he was in the same class as Jordan. So, when Jordan developed senior-itis, Philip did, too. The only problem? Philip was a junior. 

So, by the time Philip's senior year rolled around, we had looked at five colleges before the August school bell rang, kicking off the official countdown. One in Georgia, two in Tennessee, two in Arkansas. That left his senior year to just do some preview weekend experiences and hone down his choices. He did two previews and by November, he had made his selection, falling in love with Nashville as much as, or perhaps even more than, falling in love with the university he picked there.

His plan mapped out, he settled into riding out the last few months as a high school student living under his parents' wings. He made no bones about being ready to leave. I do think there were a few moments toward the end where he got a little sentimental, but the growing urgency of picking out what to take and what to leave at home, and making the list of things to pick up before leaving town quickly overcrowded the little seed of sentimentality. 

Of course, during all of this, mom is finishing his School of Life album, and planning a graduation party, and basically trying to just hold it all together. Goodness. I don't think I've ever cried so much as the day I finished his senior slide show and did the preview of it with the music going. I had picked six songs, with Philip's input, and they were the backdrop to his slideshow, in this order:

• This Is Home - Switchfoot
• Dare You To Move - Switchfoot
• Find Your Wings - Mark Harris
• My Wish - Rascal Flatts
• Home - Philip Phillips
• On My Way - Phil Collins, from Brother Bear

And that ending song finished off the slideshow with my boy looking down the railroad tracks, ready to go.

Tell everybody I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way
And there's no where else that I'd rather be 

Tell everybody I'm on my way
And I'm loving every step I take
With the sun beatin' down, yes I'm on my way
And I can't keep this smile off my face

'Cause there's nothing like seein' each other again
No matter what the distance between
And the stories that we tell will make you smile
Oh it really lifts my heart

So tell 'em all I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
And to sleep under the stars and could ask for more
With the moon keeping watch over me 

Not the snow not the rain can change my mind
The sun will come out wait and see
And the feeling of the wind in your face can lift your heart
Oh, there's no where I would rather be

'Cause I'm on my way now
Well and truly
I'm on my way now

I'm on my way now 

Tell everybody I'm on my way
And I just can't wait to be there
With blue skies ahead yes I'm on my way
And nothing but good times to share

So, tell everybody I'm on my way
And I just can't wait to be home
With the sun beating down yes I'm on my way
And nothing but good times to show

I'm on my way
Yes, I'm on my way 

I can see that railroad track picture in my mind, and that was June. Fast forward two months, and the college drop-off happened at the speed of light. Oh, Steve and I weren't ready. And I don't think Andrew really was either. But, no mistake, Philip got there, we got him settled, and it was clear as day he was ready for us to go, and for his new life to begin. We rolled onto campus that morning about 9, and rolled off around 4:30. See, we had to get on our way, so that he could get on his way. 

I love seeing this boy in this photo, full of confidence, ready to take on his new life, discover himself, figure out what he's to do with life. My prayer was then, and continues to be, that he enjoys the journey, and isn't reaching only for a future destination, and that he is truly loving every step he takes, with his new friends and new places to see.

Son, I will tell everybody you're on your way. Breathe in the blue sky. Savor the good times. New friends and new places to see. The moon is keeping watch over you. My wish? That your dreams stay big and your worries stay small. Dream big. Adventure is out there.

Sketch Credit: Scrapbook Generation

Paper: Echo Park

Title Fonts: Gurmukhi, Halohandletter