Week in the Life

For those of you deeply immersed in the scrapbooking world, you are familiar with Ali Edwards.  I have been following her blog/projects/products for a few years now and never cease to be inspired.  I am especially drawn to her emphasis on documenting our stories with photos and words.

One such project that she hosts annually on her blog is called Week in the Life.  Here's what Ali writes:


A seven-day documentary project, Week In The Life is an annual opportunity to capture the simple everyday details of your life with photos and words. The albums I’ve created...are some of my most treasured in that they are wonderfully true representations of my family’s life at a particular point in time. From the mundane to the profound, it’s those simple little everyday moments that I treasure most.


For several years, I have been a sideline observer of this project.  I have not felt especially moved or motivated to tackle such a project - which is kind of odd to say because "working on projects" is how I go about my creative life.  I have a lot started, always starting more, eventually finishing, making lists of those that I'd like to do, etc.  I have always loved Ali's approach, her photos, her inspiration...but have never felt the particular urge to participate.

Until now.

Because who doesn't need another project whilst adjusting to both boys back in school, the launch of fall programming at church, and preparing for a baby??? :)

Here's the thing: this doesn't feel like just another project.   Motivated by the impending arrival of Baby #3 really makes me want to document the here and now.  Because soon, the here and now is going to change, and life is going to look vastly different after this sweet bundle is born.  The here and now is going to be a piece of the past, but a part of the past that is an important part of our story.  So I don't want it to be forgotten.

So before this, *today*, is over and done, and before our life as we've grown to know and love it over the past several years is going to alter for the better... I want to remember.

I want to remember our days.  Our routine.  Our habits.  Our stuff and experiences.  The normalcy of these days that so defines who we are right now.

For those that have read my blog for a while, you are familiar with Project Life.  While I haven't been able to share photos here as regularly as I would like, I am keeping up with documenting my family's life using the Project Life approach/products.  Unlike previous years, though, this year has evolved into a much more relaxed approach.  I still take photos.  I still plan pages and put together the album and I am still loving how it all comes together to really showcase our family and our story.  But I am finding that, with a much more laid-back approach, there are not specific details about the here and now.  And that is how Week in the Life will be different.

Week in the Life will involve intense photo taking and writing.  But more than that, it will involve intentional thoughts about my day and everything that it includes.

These will be the things that mean something to me, and to us.  So while I'll be sharing my daily photos here on the blog, you may not "get it."  You're not necessarily supposed to.  ;)  My hope for this project is primarily self-reflective...I hope to see more clearly how I am spending my time, my day, my life; what needs to be removed, what is lacking, what I need to add or change in order to do better, live better, be better.  I hope to capture this week in our life as a means to remember but also as a means to improve.

How it will all come together, project-wise, in the end, remains to be seen.  As a scrapbooker, I'm inclined to create an album to include both the photos and the words from this week.  Realistically speaking, however, I know the time commitment required for that, and being as I'm already playing the catch-up game with several other projects, another scrappy album might not be the way to go.  Perhaps I'll go digital, or maybe just include a larger segment in our Project Life album.  Or maybe just leave it up here on the ol' blog to publish in the yearly book and leave it at that.  We'll see.

My goal is to post my daily photos the day after I take them.  So Monday's pictures will be posted Tuesday, Tuesday's will be up on Wednesday, and on and on.  So prepare to be inundated with several blog posts!

With no further ado, here's to Week in the Life!

{For those that are interested in Week in the Life, go visit Ali's blog.  She has tons of explanations, tools, and examples for your perusal.}