Scrapbooking is good???

This may be the only time I ever say anything nice about scrapbooking.

We are cleaning and reorganizing to fit the next little monkey in the house, and I had the idea that maybe I could rip some pictures out of photo albums, put them in envelopes, and save some space.

But I found the scrapbook - a very amateur attempt unlike those scrapbooker gurus I know - I made of The Kid's first six months. I'm preggers so I'm predisposed to tears anyway, but by the end of the album I was crying.

The page that sent me over the edge:

Four photos. The Old Man holds The Baby Kid in each. The Old Man looks tired, depressed. I had written "Daddy Loves You!!" in the middle. With two exclamation points. As if by pasting evidence that The Old Man held The Kid during this time, and by writing that line, I could make it true.

Of course The Old Man loves The Kid. But for the first year, The Old Man was grumpy, withdrawn. Not happy. I'm desperate that this pattern isn't repeated with the new one. I don't have the emotional armory to prop The Old Man up, plus The Kid, plus the New One. I want The Old Man to be happy with me, to show his excitement. I don't want to wait a year for The Old Man to be happy again.

Being the take-charge kind of gal I am, I've already talked a lot to The Old Man about this. He is aware of what might happen, and is right there along with me, going to try everything to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Needless to say, I couldn't rip a single picture out of anywhere. Maybe I'll make space by giving my old ballet slippers and karate uniforms to charity...