Preserving Precious Memories

Like most parents, we have indulged in photos of our offspring and ourselves. Pictures are everywhere! In boxes, in drawers, in frames.

Our favorites, that bring back memories of fun times and loved ones, are in scrapbooks . . . protected from light and moisture (which can ruin pictures) and protected for future generations.

If you don’t make family scrapbooks, I’d like to share this with you: A few weeks ago, I was watching a rerun on cable TV of “Touched By an Angel,” a series that features angels who help people get through tough times. In this episode, a young father is dying. In his last hours, an angel suggests that he either finish a painting or make a family scrapbook for each of his three sons.

You guessed it. He decided to leave scrapbooks heaped with precious family memories. He wanted his sons to recall, in years to come, just how much fun they had had together and how much he loved them. The show ends with the sons looking at the pictures.

I encourage all families to make scrapbooks, which, I think, should be called memory books. You can use your imagination in compiling them, but you need to use discretion when buying the supplies.

Look for books with acid-free pages. These will not erode the coating on pictures. Also, avoid books with plastic sleeves. The plastic traps moisture that could ruin your pictures.

According to the Hobby Industry Assn., a trade group, making scrapbooks is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the country. The HIA says scrapbook supplies accounted for some $300 million in sales in 1999.

Log on to a search engine such as https://www.yahoo.com or https://www.google.com and type in “scrapbooking.”