Project Past Life~ What is remembered lives.

I am determined to keep this project simple. 
No bells and whistles just pictures and journal cards
with a memory or brief note about the where or when of the photo
as I near as I can recall from my mom's sharing.  Or just picture
collages and no words at all...whatever calls to us at the time.

Deciding on the book and card style was the hardest thing for us. 
We looked at all the products narrowing our choice down between two.
We ordered the Clementine kit with the idea if we need another the sunny
Amber kit would be next.  

We set a reminder on our calender dedicating 1 hour every Friday
afternoon for as long as it takes to complete this one album for
Project Past Life. 

Just one.  No pressure to do another one. 

A strange spell came over us as we opened
the journal cards.

'Write it down...use me to write it all down"
they seemed to say.

With a box of photos beside us we grabbed a
handful and got started. 

Josephine discovered some pictures still in the store envelope weren't my moms
but were actually from her middle school trip to Tybee Island.  'Can I write whatever
I want?' she asked.  'Yep. Whatever you want.'   

She began feverishly writing on her chosen journal card as
I lifted out a hand full of pictures.

Mine turned out to be from when we lived in Germany. 
My parents came to visit us for 6 weeks during the summer of 2000. 
As I looked through the pictures Mom took, whispered memories of
that summer came flooding back.  She had been so excited and happy
we had bought the tickets for them to visit. 

I remember her telling me how grateful she was for us gifting her with
this once in a lifetime trip.  Going through the envelope I discovered
she also kept all sorts of ephemera.  Looking through it all, my heart aches
longing for her to have written even just a few sentences in a notebook about
what we did.  But that ship has sailed and it is left to me to recall as much as I can.

As I begin, I offer a prayer to the Muse

Blessed Goddess of memory,
Beloved Muse Mnemosyne hear me
I call upon you to aid me as I start this journey
for without your ability to remember, I am lost.
Look with favor on our Project Past Life. 
Grant me your blessing that I may preserve the
stories of my mother and my father. 
As I look upon each picture part the veil of time so
I may see each story as clearly as if they'd happened
yesterday.  May their voices ring clear through our ears
so they may be heard through the words I record on their behalf.
May what is remembered here live on.
Ashe'
Amen
And So It Is

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