The Bandwagon

Lets' see if I can't get back on the blogging bandwagon again, shall we?

I also thought I was being unproductive in my scrapbooking as well, but it turns out I have a bunch of layouts to share.

Today I'll share the ones that were inspired by Cocoa Daisy's recent spring Crop. I followed along meticulously, and made a list of challenges to try. I even finished a few on time, but did not photograph them in time to actually be part of the crop. But really, that doesn't even matter. I just love creating layouts based on challenges. They just provide a nice little boost to get the creative juices going.

This one was for a spring/park related layout, where the journaling was a big focus of the layout. The challenge was posted by Kelli Crowe, who also created a brightly colored layout on a kraft background. Her layout also had a photo from Central Park, so there are lots of similarities here. I'm not even sure I followed the challenge, but again, I definitely used that challenge as inspiration:

I adore this photo, and the little tidbit of a story that accompanies it. Sam had just made a quick comment that helped me see some of what he's thinking as he plays. (You can click on the photo to read all about it.)

Next was a challenge to create a layout with flaps and to write some journaling inside. Which was perfect, because I was searching for a way to include a long story about Max.

This is what I wrote here: When Max was 4, he enjoyed school, and unlike the first couple of years, he said goodbye easily when he was dropped off.  Unless. Unless, there was some expected change. Like, say, a class trip, or photo day. These things meant that he cried all the way to school, and clung to Dave as he walked out the door. But here’s the catch: Of all the kids in his class, he always had the best time.  On the way home from school, he filled me in on every fabulous detail. I guess whatever Max was feeling, he felt it big.

On this recent outing during Pesach vacation, we woke Max up around 9 am, so we could drive to Staten Island and visit Fort Wadsworth, and then High Rock Park.  While he didn’t scream and cry (he’s 13), and he wasn’t even angry, really, he pretty much complained every single moment of  the next hour or two until we got into in the car. “I don’t want to go…Why did you wake me so early...We have to walk to the car?!!” And then, we were in the car, and he zoned out for a bit, and then enjoyed every minute of our outing. He was an absolute, teenage, angel.

Is there a connection between these two stories? Maybe. Maybe not.  But this is what I see: For Max, and myself too (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, they say), trying something new and changing the routine, is not always easy. There is a lot of comfort to be had from rest, from predictability, and from the status quo. And that’s not bad. But, also, there is a lot of fun to be had out in this world. It just takes a little extra work to get out there.

See, I told you it was long. So long, in fact, I'll save the other layouts for another day.