This weekend we attended a pool party at the home of one my son's preschool friends. As the party wound down, we found ourselves inside saying our goodbyes and there was a scrapbook being passed round.

My son's friend is a foster child who is being adopted into this big warm family. This album was the boy's story to the extent that the child services folks could provide. For each child adopted out, a member of the staff creates a scrapbook-on her own time- to provide to the family.

As I think about it now, what made the album so special is that it didn't tell a story of what was but what was to be. The album showed photos of the boy and all of the members of his new family. It was filled with messages of love and welcome. Years from now when he becomes a teenager and starts learning more about adoption, this album will tell the story of how much he was truly wanted by this family.

I was wondering how this "First day of Your Future" scrapbook idea could be translated on a larger scale. You might be able to reach out to your county child services office or children's home to offer supplies for the family scrapbooks. Or maybe you could create  a volunteer group that meets to scrap these albums for a family. These non-profit or state- run groups rarely have the time and financial resources to make this type of memento so any help would be welcome.

An album about the future.Just goes to prove that scrapbooking isn't always about looking back.--Beth