Letting go

In the process of making gifts, a person can learn so much more than the how-to of doing something new. For me, it was learning to let go. As a result, the gift became much more than the assembled parts and products.

Sometime in October, I decided to make a scrapbook for my son that would include photos, etc., from birth to college.


The photos were no problem. I scanned, repaired, re-sized and printed. I filled in around them with names, dates and stories.

The first stumbling blocks were just little things, like our matching hospital-issue, plastic bracelets from his birth day and the tiny knots of black thread, saved upon removal after his first ER experience.

When considering the embellishments for the pages (altered art always includes one-of-a-kind additions), I pulled out the treasures accumulated from years of poking around dusty shops and sales. Stumbling block #2 - can I let these go, knowing nothing like them will cross my hands again?

It took a minute or two on both counts... but a gift is only a gift when it costs something.

When my son opened that package, he showed his wife a scrapbook. What he had in his hands was a piece of my self.

Lesson learned.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. I John 3:18