Challenge #9-2013 MMDT "The Dash Don't Be Silent"

A month ago my Mum and I attended her sister’s funeral in Canada. She’d lived to the ripe old age of 94. My cousin had given a eulogy recalling the things that she would remember about her Mum. When she sat down the pastor called for anyone else to share and while I was mulling things over in my mind, and he’d barely taken a pause, he continued with the service and moved on! This guy could really learn a thing or two from a Baptist preacher about drawing out that moment long enough for folks to respond!

The death of someone close has a way of making us take stock of our own lives. Thinking about what we have accomplished or not. Things we wished we had done or hadn’t. Things we’d still like to do but won’t. This challenge has asked us to

“Create a page that conveys a “forget-me-not” message:  What do you want others (and yourself) to remember about you at this phase in your life?” 

So for me, it was timely. But finding a way to photograph some of the things I’d like to be remembered for in this stage of my life was at times a huge roadblock. I made lists, jotted down ideas and turned it over in my mind repeatedly. In the end, I think the page I present today will be the first of several, so thank you Tami, for getting me started!

Element options that we could incorporate were: String, Mosaic Moments CornerStones, or Doodles. I chose to go with “string” by using the ever popular twine on the scrapbooking market today to symbolize the Forget-Me-Not theme of the page. If you are a fan of “It’s a Wonderful Life” you’ll remember that Uncle Billy tied string around his fingers to remember the things that were important that he had to do. Sadly it didn’t help him remember George’s wedding. So it seemed to be the perfect match for my “forget-me-not” moments.

About My Page

I have used the Featured Grid Paper for May, Periwinkle and Page Pattern # 58. The title is in the font Speedball and I have included the sentiment “Trust the Creator” and a “forget-me-not flower” stamps both from Endless Creations. VersaMark watermark ink was used with the flower images.

Here’s where my journey begins. I came across a poem several years ago called “The Dash” (the “dash” representing the mark between the years representing being born and dying) and thought how well it fit into the musings I myself began when my husband was given a terminal diagnosis. At the time we had only been married 22 years. I considered all we had gone through in those years and wondered what would be next.  I got married at 24 and I began mentally listing all the things I’d been to people during those years and how that had changed when I got married. It wasn’t certain we’d even make to 23 years as that was only a few months away and the news grim, but keeping in mind no matter what the doctors said I believed “Not a day more, not a day less than what God has planned for his life.” We did make it to that 24 yrs. mark with a few weeks to spare against huge odds.  In the following days I began to wonder what my next 24 years may hold.  In this layout today I’m going to take a peek at what has been my life in this stage life thus far, in these next 24! The quote I found great inspiration in in those days was one of Mark Twains.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails, Explore, Dream, Discover.”  

It pushed me forward, it kept me from being paralyzed by fear of making decisions, it challenged me to try to do something beyond playing it safe, and it made me trust God even more with what lay ahead. I’ve included this quote in the bottom left photo on page one.

Page One

I want my family to remember me for “Moving On.”

I pushed forward, invested in the five children I had and I continued to live…even though it wasn’t the life I once envisioned, knowing that my life’s work wasn’t finished yet.

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. I have found that my camera’s eye has been the instrument to capture the moments that thrill my soul. Many of my shots may be mundane, but I am always trying to freeze frame time, a moment, an event, an emotion, a look into another’s personality and preserve it forever. It brings me pleasure, both in the taking and the sharing. It goes hand in hand in being creative and bringing the photos to life with a story, especially as I scrapbook, it is a part of me, of who I am.  

 I want my family to remember our history together and our moments captured by “These Eyes.”

The photo in the bottom right was most my bunch together for my Mum’s 85th birthday the other week. It is a typical photo of this bunch. It isn’t perfect. But it is perfectly them! All eyes are on Isabella as she desperately tries to get Andrew’s attention! This is our moment in history for April 21, 2013.

Also on this first page I have included an unusual photo of myself. I don’t like getting my photo taken, but thought a page about me, should actually include a current photo. Daughter Hannah was enlisted to take a few. It turns out I can be just as difficult to shoot as my kids are so she enlisted Andrew in an attempt to get me to smile. King of the goofy faces had me in stitches. In sorting through them and being critical of most, it dawned on me I had a way to document another aspect I’d like remembered. I love to have fun, I can enjoy a good joke and I have a good sense of humor.

 I want my family to remember that “I love to laugh.”

This now brings me to my title, “The Dash Don’t Be Silent.”  Do you have a name that is always mispronounced? I do. When I was growing up I longed for a simple name. Teachers were always creative in their pronunciation; I even had a teacher call me Adrian for half a year! I was particular, I wanted it done right and was forever repeating the correct way. So I clearly sympathized with this item on an email circulating the other week, and I found humor in it. A mom was frustrated by everyone’s lack of ability to pronounce her daughter’s name, Le-a. After going through the possibilities, you now consider my title, Le-a’s Mom’s response…”the dash don’t be silent!” Grammar aside…when it comes to “my dash” I don’t want it to be silent either! For that, I hope, my family remembers me. Oh, yes, having peaked your interest…my name is pronounced “an DREE a,” emphasis on the second syllable.

Page Two

I want my family to remember the “Road Trips.”

We had actually just begun taking trips around Ohio to see the Bicentennial Barn Project when my husband was diagnosed. In the weeks between knowing and doing something about it, the kids were not told. I felt life had to stay as normal as possible for all our sanity. So the road trips continued as long as possible. When it was all over, we travelled beyond Ohio. We did it on a shoestring budget, PB and crackers, and camping. We did it together as much as possible, and we saw things I thought I’d never be able to take them to see.

I want my family to remember “The Fabric of Our Lives.”

Sewing as a hobby or sewing as a need, needles and thread and cottons galore have gone into the clothes and quilts and decorating I have done for my family. With every item that is made they all include the ingredient of love, the fabric of our lives.

I want my family to remember “The Fisher Family Library.”

I love books. I think all homes should have libraries. I wanted good books for my kids to read from the beginning. Yard sales often yielded treasures. Later educational books would be filling the bookshelves…and still I collected more. With the official home school days winding down, my focus has now become building a good reference library as history is my love. I want these books to be their friends and an enduring source of knowledge established for future generations.

I want my family to remember “My Faith.”

I have a Biblical World View. It’s how I’ve trained my children. It is the glasses that I wear to look at everything through and keep going each and every day…by Faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. The final block expresses this: “Everything we see teaches us to trust the Creator for everything we cannot see.” It is the single most important thing in my life, if that hasn’t been evident, nothing else will have mattered.

How do you see yourself? What do you want to be remembered by? When the genealogists in your future family come across your name what will your dash say, or will it remain silent, no story to tell? Tell your story, get started today. We just happen to have a great sale going on now to get you started! Thanks for joining me on my journey!

andrea

because of the copywrite on The Dash  I can't share it in this post but you can find the poem here and the video here. Enjoy!