These photos are from my 2020 family photo album.
I stopped working on it very early in the year. I had set it up ahead of time and formatted the spreads just how I wanted them. I basically set it up to just plug in photos and journaling as things were happening for our family, easy right?
So why didn't I finish? Because 2020 was ridiculous.
The last time y'all saw this album was in this post and I'm pretty sure that was the last time I saw it too.
I knew I needed to document all the things that went on because we were quite clearly living through history. A worldwide shutdown and pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement and eventual AAPI outcry, first female Vice President, not to mention all that I had going on in my personal life. It was just... a lot. And obviously needed memory keeping. But living through it, I couldn't even decipher what approach I could take.
Would the album start off being about the family and end up just covering the turmoil that was 2020? Would I gloss over the news headlines and not leave my kids enough information to truly understand what they lived through? Would the entire album just be photo after photo of us either in our house or backyard because we had cancelled all of our travel plans?
In the end (and by end I mean this past week) I decided to go back to this post and pull up some motivation just to finish it. I reminded myself that documenting the ugly is just part of the process, and there are ways to do it that won't tear you up just from looking back.
I took this opportunity and made it more about being creative than checking a task off of my list (although "finish last year's photo album" has consistently been on my to-do list for 6 months now) and it changed my perspective on last year and what it meant to me and my family.
I let most of the photos just speak for themselves. I also took this as an opportunity to use up a lot of journaling cards and other supplies I had been holding on to. I journaled much less than usual but when I did, it was often hidden in fun little flip pockets and tabs.
