I was never the sorority girl type. I was over 40 before I owned my first twinset and still don't have real pearls.
I have two brothers - both much younger than I - so the concept of sisterhood had about as much relevance to me as calculus.
But the Scrap Sisters happened anyway.
My cousin Cheryl brought me out to a full day scrapbooking event a few years back. I was ONLY indulging her, I couldn't imagine myself hanging with that many women - let alone spending hours cutting and pasting.
But the idea of pulling together all my years and years of photographs and telling our stories struck an instant nerve. I had recently been pretty ill and both my daughters were far away. It allowed me to hold on to something I needed at that time in the most basic way.
This was just being a magazine editor again, I rationalized. I'm no Martha Stewart and EVERYONE knew it. When Cheryl and I scrapped together, hours would disappear as we talked about family, work and the world as we knew it.
Then another cousin, Darlene, mentioned she had done some scrapping.
The three of us were not children together. Darlene complete high school in the 60s, me in the 70s and Cheryl in the 80s. But we started meeting monthly for scrapbooking, food, drinks and free mutual therapy.
Then Kim started flying in from Maryland for the monthly scraps and pretty soon we drew Karen W. in too.
Kim and Craig finally moved back home late last spring - Kim's first big housewarming event was, of course, our monthly group.
I did a scrapbook for my sister-in-law Karen for her birthday a few years back and had her daughters help me. I could see right away that my niece Lauren "had it." Lauren and Karen M joined the group this year.
There are now seven of us in the monthly group ranging from 16 to... substanially older.
We talk, we scrap, we eat, we scrap, we have a drink or two (except Lauren) and we scrap some more. We over celebrate each other's birthdays, buying each other amazing presents - and commiserate in the challenges that come with living in the real world.
I have "scrapped" back the last 25 years and done several gift albums. I create two or three new albums a year with the pictures and stories of today. So many of the events are shared with my scrap sisters, but come down to our indiviudal pages with unique perspective.
We relive the good times together, we share solutions to the rest.
Today was not the regular scrap day. I asked the sisters to help assemble Jessica's wedding invitations. My friend and colleague, our senior graphic designer at work, Karen B. joined us with her daughter.
Karen B. had typeset the copy insert and took a decent overall concept to something exceptional. She even brought her 13-year-old daughter, Emily, to help.
Karen B. is a gifted professional and a generous soul. I wondered what she would think of our earnest amateurs.
There were a few things I didn't realize going into today.
1) The invitation I designed is ridiculously complicated with more than 15 separate steps necessary to construct each one. I way overdid it.
2) My sisters love me anyway.
We were spread across the living and dining rooms, each mastering one piece of the puzzle, then doing it 100 times over.
Each person brought their personal gifts and shared without boundaries. The invitations grew more beautiful as the day became the night.
Jessica's getting married in Texas and it's so hard to not be there for the planning. My sisters brought the celebration to my dining room today.
Turns out I'm a sorority girl afterall.
Phi Beta Scrappa forever.




Copyright 2007 Judi Griggs