A Lifetime of Research

In honor of Thanksgiving, I’d like to share an observation I’ve been working on most of my life.  I’m not certain if the established scientific community has caught up with my data, but I feel comfortable with my assertion. 

The data:

How many times have you eaten substantially more than you should on Thanksgiving?  I know my first plate seems to be too small for all the great food, especially once-a-year goodies like dressing.  I usually find a way to refill the plate with slightly less food, but still more than a meal should contain.  I lean back, groaning, rubbing my distended belly, once again wondering how my eyes can make decisions over my stomach…again!  I find myself vowing never to eat so much so fast again and understanding why these meals are infrequently spread throughout the year.  I hope to make it to the couch for football and to pass the necessary hours for the pain to subside.  Then, I encounter the desserts.  Oddly, when I see the pies and/or cakes, I discover to my surprise that I have room for more food.  A piece of pie is nice, but smaller pieces of several pies are better.

The conclusion:

I am left with only one explanation for the “more food space” event.  We have two stomachs.  One is for substantial food like potatoes, beans, bread, and meats.  One is strictly for sweets.  I realize this hypothesis may be controversial, but in the name of science, I will continue my fieldwork research tomorrow!

Another quote not found in Roget: Wisdom from unexpected sources.

As you can imagine, I heard a lot of interesting things in thirty years of teaching mostly middle school.  Some of the more memorable ones are too personal to discuss.  Some were interesting to me but probably not to a wider audience.  I think this one might have an appealing message for us all.

Surprisingly, this quote was not from one of my students, or even a middle school student.  It was from a third grader at Collinwood Elementary School.  Furthermore, I never knew the student’s name.  It happened about twenty years ago.

I was teaching 8^th grade math and science at Collinwood Middle School (I learned how to teach and love teaching there---Still Mean and Green!).  It was a very snowy morning, and we all suspected school would be closed early.  In fact, school was closed almost immediately after everyone arrived.  We started the middle school schedule then with a thirty-minute homeroom time that many students used to finish homework assignments, but most just visited while getting ready.  They also could go to the cafeteria for breakfast.  CMS is in a very rural area, so bus rides to school could start early and last a while.  Many students needed this opportunity to eat AFTER an hour-long bus ride.  This day was no different in that respect.  All the teachers were checking with each other to hear any news on a possible closure, and since the buses were still parked in the driveway after unloading, we figured the word had come.  Sure enough, one of my coworkers got the message from a family member (no kidding) that we would load them back up as soon as breakfast was over.  I left another teacher watching my class and hurried to tell my wife who was teaching first grade in the attached elementary school.  First grade teachers are ten times as busy as 8^th grade teachers to start a school day with every signed folder, lunch money, book order, etc. that had to be dealt with everyday, so I figured she hadn’t heard.  I hurried down there, gave her the sign from her door, and headed back to my room.  The halls were packed with kids and teachers going here and there, and I happened to end up behind three 3^rd grade boys going to eat breakfast.  Apparently, they had also heard the news of the impending early dismissal because they were discussing what they would do as soon as they got home (mostly play in the snow).  Now this was a Friday morning so they were looking at a three-day weekend at least (snows in Wayne County can close schools for days, even weeks), so they were very happy, indeed.  That’s when the teacher in me felt the need to treat this as a teachable moment about all things having reward and cost, no free lunch, paying the piper, etc. by pointing out the day(s) would have to be made up later in the year, sometimes even on Saturdays---don’t ask.  I’ve never forgotten one boy’s reply, and the simple, powerful message it included.

“Well, that will be then---this is now.”

How much of my life has been and continues to be racing to or reliving an earlier “then?”  I still have to work everyday to live that day to the fullest.  I do not suggest that planning for the future or evaluating the past are mistakes, that is, unless these activities define the goals/achievements for a day.  How many times do we look so forward to some event and halfway through it, are already dreading its end?  For me, it’s a big bunch of “second halves.”  And I also am not suggesting that today’s decisions don’t have repercussions tomorrow.  If not, I’d eat a lot more chocolate than I already do!  I just mean that if we choose to eat the chocolate, enjoy it.  Oh, I’m sure that third grader was miserable on that makeup day at the end of the school year, but that was then, not now.

I am including some lines from a poem I wrote in 2008 on this very topic.  It’s titled “Learning to Live.”

I rush through so much.

I see beauty and waste the experience

trying to figure out how to maximize it,

how to save it for later,

how to carve it out for me and mine.

I love cheesecake,

but eating it is always a mixed blessing;

I savor the first bites with so much more left.

I hurry through the last bites to finish the job,

to speed the inevitable end.

And maybe cheesecake is a good place to start.

Maybe I can close my eyes and taste each bite

with no reckoning of beginnings and ends;

maybe I can walk the greenway and not measure time and distance;

maybe I can listen to music and not wonder about a better version.

I’ll let you know.

Another quote not found in Roget

“The cheapest boots are the most expensive ones you will ever buy.”

My father-in-law, James T. Beavers, Sr., spoke that line to me nearly 30 years ago, and I never forgot it.  In no small way it helped shape many decisions over those years.  I had been pretty poor growing up, so I always thought purchases should be for the cheapest possible alternative.  My wife and I had moved to a small farm in southern middle Tennessee, and I needed a pair of work boots.  I shared several choices with James, suggesting I would probably get the $30 boots at some box store.  He explained I would be replacing those boots often because you really do get what you pay for.  I remember the reevaluation process I went through considering this new, but certainly logical alternative.  I ended up ordering a pair of boots from a store I had just barely heard of named L. L. Bean.  They cost $100, and I couldn’t believe I spent that much on anything (my first car cost $300).  Well, you can probably guess that they lasted me forever.  I had them resoled after 10 years and wore them until the size and shape of my feet changed to keep up with my stomach. 

There are further examples of this philosophy to be shared in later posts.  I think that store has done pretty well!

Maybe not forgiveness, but credit

My father was the hardest working person I have ever known.  Second place is distant.  Third is out of sight.  His father hadn’t been much of a provider to him, his three sisters, and mother, so at a very early age my father was providing for his very poor family in northeast Mississippi.  Guiding a plow, barefoot, behind a pair of mules at age ten leaves marks.  My father sure had a bunch of marks.  Rather than time smoothing them, the marks provided my father with direction.  He was justifiably proud of his ability to overcome an extremely humble beginning, never graduating from high school, receiving practically no support from family.  He made himself into a master tool and die maker.  He married and had three kids.  They moved to Memphis to find work, living on what was then outside the city limits but is now miles inside.  My mother became a special education teacher.  His daughter had cerebral palsy but was smart, funny, and our mother’s best friend.  His two sons worked hard, did well in school, and had very productive careers.  He should have been happy.

This essay isn’t about my father’s self-destructive behaviors (alcohol, smoking, anger, etc.).  It isn’t about my mother’s much too early death that left him alone.  This essay is about me coming to grips with my father’s legacy…or, as I like to call it,  “Barney’s gift.”  Just for some insight into my experience growing up, I called my parents by their first names at age ten and never again addressed them as mom or dad…think about that for a minute…imagine doing that in your family.  Yep.

My older brother Rubel has made peace with our father and very much would like for me to be able to do so.  It’s not that I couldn’t, I suppose, it’s that I choose not to.  He left too many marks on my life.  I can forgive bad decisions, but I do not forgive lost years.  I even quit hoping years before his death.  So, if I could see him today, I would ask him to explain just what he had been thinking all those years.  I’m at peace that I will probably never make peace with my father.  And that should have been the end of the conversation, but it isn’t.

The teaching profession keeps folks in it humble.  Explaining why is the subject for a bunch of essays.  Having said that, I had a very successful 30-year career.  I still correspond with many of my students from those years (even back when I had hair on my head and cartilage in my knees).  But, frankly, I’ve been pretty successful at whatever I’ve done.  I’m smart and work hard, with working hard being the key.  And I owe most of this success to my father. 

This essay is not meant to ignore my mother’s value in my life, or for that matter, my brother, sister, son, friends, and most importantly my wife.  This is about my realization of just what my debt is to my father.  He pushed us to an extreme level of work; break you down kind of work, all day dead work.  This went on my entire childhood.  He required grown man work from kids at the expense of much of our childhood.  He did it with a surprisingly effective blend of off the charts expectations and often little or no instruction.  We were just expected to get the job done.  Or else.  Quite honestly, the only memories of happiness in my father I recall are when the three of us were so exhausted after a day of backbreaking work we could hardly walk back to the truck.  Ironically, most of the work we did never paid for itself, but that is a topic for another essay.  I am certain my father’s purpose was NOT to produce hardworking, successful sons.  He just needed cheap labor, and, boy, were we!

I have a favorite saying: “you can’t have it both ways.”  For example, you can’t care about the feelings of others and be invulnerable.   So, I have learned as I have aged just how much I owe my father for the almost absolute belief in my ability to get a job done.  I call it “grabbing your end and going.”  The analogy is understandable if you’ve ever done work that requires sharing a load with someone.  It fits in almost any setting even if the weight is less about pounds and more about due dates and complexity.  A lot of my former students would probably say that I “shared” Barney’s gift with them.  I pushed continually, challenging them to get the job done.  I’m like that on everything.  A hike with me is a job to get done---no time for stopping for views or smelling roses.  Anything worth doing is worth doing in a hurry!

I wish my father had found a way of spending some recreational time with us.  I wish he had aimed his work habits at some more “fun” activities.  I wish he could have found happiness in less physically demanding activities.  I wish he could have made peace with some of the demons haunting him.  I wish we could have it both ways.

What makes heroes/heroines?

My father-in-law is nearing 93 and is the best-read person I know!  He sends us articles every week.  His latest offerings ranged from commentary on web-based dating services to a Rheta Grimsley Johnson article on a trip to New Orleans.  Ms. Grimsley Johnson is one of his favorite writers, and this article focused on her visit to a museum featuring Mississippi (her proud home) artists.  Among the displays was a photograph of one of her heroines, Blanche Aldrich.  Now, I’ve visited Miss Blanche several times as she is the legendary matriarch of the tiny Mississippi town of Michigan City where my wife’s family attended church back in the 50’s and early 60’s.  Blanche is instantly entertaining with her incredible energy, humor, and remarkable experiences (I include links to a photo of Blanche, the article I reference, and another article by RGJ with further Blanche details).  I can say with sincerity she is one of the very few people I’ve met who seemed larger than life, or maybe just filled the space they occupied so completely.  I’m a talker/story teller, but I found myself quiet more than usual.  In short, she is a treat.

As I read the article to my wife over breakfast this morning, I wondered what makes someone a hero/heroine.  Rheta Grimsley Johnson would not use such a term loosely.  I admit Blanche is one of my heroines.  She inspired us to teach overseas for the Army, a job that gave our 30+year teaching careers even more meaning.  I know with Blanche I saw opportunities for us I had never really considered. 

Maybe when we see acts of great courage like firefighters risking their lives to save someone, soldiers in daily life and death situations, or bystanders lifting a burning car to save a stranger, we see the best of ourselves, the chance we all have to step beyond more mundane, daily challenges.  Blanche probably has never saved a life, but I wonder how many people she has inspired to live more meaningful lives.  Maybe heroes/heroines are just people who show us what is possible. 

http://picayuneitem.com/opinion/x803554747/In-NO-serving-life-up-on-the-half-shell/print

http://nems360.com/view/full_story/5570952/article-OPINION--Zest-for-life-flows-strong-for-former-Mississippian--age-102

http://www.brucewestphotography.com/imgs/gallery/9615/9615_5251801324ab51f2bead62.jpg

Another “Quote” …not in Roget!

While this entry is not exactly a quote in the classic sense of some sentence we can draw meaning from, it is another unlikely source for a beautiful opportunity that we all face probably much more often than we realize (like maybe everyday).  It’s the song Scrooge sings---yes, it’s from the musical version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens---when he faces the new day after visits from the three ghosts.  I love its hopefulness and empowerment. 

A Better Life

Do my eyes deceive me

Can my reason lie

Am I living here and now

Or in some life gone by

Is this world I'm seeing

The world I saw before

Could there be a better life

That might have taught me more

Am I merely dreaming

Or am I awake

Is my mind just playing games

Or showing me a pathway I should take

Do I just ignore it

Do I break the spell

Or do I take another look

Open up a brand new book

Try to find a better life

A bigger, brighter, better life

And could I somehow learn to live it well

Only time will tell

Can I find a better life

And learn to live it well

Scrooge has to reevaluate the decisions he has made that produced what he defined as success---wealth and power.  Now, he has to determine whether this “success” is enough.  Living a “better life” is a choice we make.  We all face the “spells” that can distract us, and seeing through them takes real effort.  It sure has for me!!

A Great Quote from a Likely Source!

One of my favorite quotes on the benefits of honesty is by Mark Twain.  Oddly, I haven’t seen this quote used as often as it deserves.  To me it is the quintessential argument for not lying.

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

I can so easily see all those webs of deceit I wove trying to use one lie to defend or protect another lie.  Hard to keep all those balls in the air! 

Quotes...not in Roget!

I’d like to write a series on some of my favorite quotes from unexpected sources.  There are literally books dedicated to the great sayings by amazing folks throughout history---these will probably not be found there. 

I will start with one I have loved for many years, but my understanding of its powerful message has increased through the years.  It is from that epic, “The Sound of Music.”

While the premise for the show---finding and fulfilling one’s purpose and/or place in life---is serious and meaningful, this quote deals with a specific challenge Maria has to face, becoming the governess for the Von Trapp children.  Her fear is the subject of a song (of course): “I Have Confidence,” in which she imagines the potential problems and how she will deal with them.  The challenges she describes could fit in lots of new job situations.  The quote I consider most powerful is near the end as she has listed many reasons she should be confident and is more a commentary on being strong in the face of challenges with potential failures implied.  It is about strength.

Strength doesn't lie in numbers

Strength doesn't lie in wealth

Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers

When you wake up -- Wake Up!

The older I get the more I realize the truth of strength/success/happiness/health/whatever being embodied in “nights of peaceful slumbers.”  I sure know that for me the quality and quantity of sleep I get is directly proportional to the “strength” of my life at any given time.  We can’t buy good sleep.  More quotes coming.  I’d love to hear yours.

Suggestion 10: Location, location, location!

Most of the earlier suggestions have been about lessons we’ve learned that we didn’t predict.  This one is about a lesson we suspected and turns out were right about.  I realize many folks will not get to choose a new location for their retirement like we did when we left six years in Germany working for the DoD, but there probably is some freedom to decide.  How did we choose?  It’s simple…and complicated.

While we were working for the Army in Germany we met people from quite literally the whole world.  We visited 12 countries and had immediate neighbors from 6 countries (next door, Persian husband, German/Hungarian wife, across the street, family of Turks, around the corner, Russians, and nearby Americans and Germans---one of our favorite close restaurants was an Italian place with a German cook run by a Greek and near that was a Spanish restaurant run by Turks).   Turns out, almost everyone loves their home and/or adopted country---just as much or more than everyone else does (apologies to my logic teacher).  We had so many conversations with Europeans extolling the virtues of their countries suggesting we move there when we retired.  They also had great reasons to avoid the other countries!  Turns out, the same is true for all those Americans we met from all over the U.S.  Every state appears to be the best for a variety of reasons. 

Now, I have always felt the greatest influence comes from folks who have a real passion for something.  I think most of my past students would suggest I was maybe even too passionate about some of the mathematics I taught.  Passion gets listened to…passion entertains…passion teaches…passion sells.  The point is we had a lot of passionate people telling us about why their location was best, and we listened.  We dreamed, we studied, we talked a lot, but we discovered, somewhat to our surprise, that Tennessee truly is home to us. 

Tennessee isn’t better than someone else’s home, but it’s the place we measure other places by.  Now, understand we love traveling maybe even staying months on a visit, but I suspect we will return here each time.   It’s a hard thing to describe or even understand.  For example, we hate that several times every year the weather in Tennessee makes serious attempts to kill us---tornados and floods in spring, oppressive heat and humidity in summer, ice storms in winter (fall is a pretty safe time to visit, by the way)---but we would never want to live in a place without four distinct seasons.  But lots of places have that.  We both graduated from Memphis State University (University of Memphis now); I did twice and sold cokes at the ball games as a kid.  We do have a special feeling for our alma mater and are not just fans for geographical reasons.  But following a team is easy now on tv and/or internet.  Tennesseans are universally polite folks and sincere interest in others is common here.  But there are nice folks everywhere.  Tennessee has river delta and mountains and every terrain in between.  But most states have diverse geography.  It’s complicated.

Of course, I’ve saved family and friends for last.  The older we get, the more roots have mattered.  We have family in three locations in the state so travel to visit was inevitable.  The easier that travel, the better…and cheaper!  We have great relationships with our families, maybe the best we’ve ever had.  Old friends, friends with a shared history simply cannot be replaced.  I’ve told folks before there are a lot of people I care about, but there are fewer I miss.  I suspect most people are like that.

I guess home is like that soup you like so much.  You aren’t even aware of all the ingredients, but you recognize immediately if they are missing.  Bon appétit!

Suggestion 9: Time Share, no kidding!

Around 20 or so years ago we received an offer in the mail for two nights in a nice Gatlinburg hotel.  All we had to do was listen to a two-hour sales pitch on time shares.  Two “free” nights in the Smoky Mountains meant vacation to us, so we prepared ourselves for the pressure by literally practicing saying “no.”  How hard could it be?  Ultimately, our practice failed us.

The facility was impressive…actually, a little too impressive.  The agent was friendly…perhaps a little too friendly.  The presentation was slick…almost assuredly, too slick.  The timing of each segment was, well, very well timed.  The biggest problem we hadn’t prepared for was the sense it made…a lot of sense.

Time-share brings out the same feelings in many people, as do used car sales.  It is an unfortunate side effect of dealing with commission sales.  Folks who stand to make money off my spending, tend to really want me to spend…and make no mistake, the pressure is there.  Fortunately, we didn’t let the pressure get to us; we said yes.

Now, time-share isn’t for everyone, so please regard this as meaningless to you if travel isn’t that important.  If, however, you try to include a beach and/or mountain type trip or two into your year, it may fit your needs better than you suspect.  The basics of time-share ownership as we’ve experienced it are actually very simple.  Our first purchase was a fixed week (the 4^th of July week) in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Our time-share unit was basically a 2-bedroom house with a loft.  The level of comfort was first rate.  We used it for years and traded it for beach trips and even stayed in Disney World for a week.  Later, we bought into a more flexible points system, giving up our fixed week but allowing stays for less than a week in lots more places.  We’ve stayed in Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach, Panama City, Williamsburg, Virginia, St. Augustine, even in Jausiers, France while we were living in Germany, and the accommodations are always very nice.  Now that our trips are usually just the two of us, we stay in smaller units for fewer points, consequently, more trips.  So, how much?

When our son was young, we typically traveled every summer staying in a motel/hotel for 5-7 nights.  Hotel stay requires almost all meals out, so that was an added expense.  A week with just three people in one room is tough.  When we listened to the sales pitch, it became obvious the deal made sense to us.  Simply, you pay some amount up front for a point total.  Those points can be spent each year on units wherever your company has resorts (time-share companies trade with each other---that is easier to see in a presentation, but it’s simple).  The initial fee can be what you might spend in say 7-8 years of traveling staying in hotels/motels, so while it may appear to be substantial, it truly pays for itself after that time.  There are fees each year, but they are reasonable.  The points get added to your account on the anniversary of your purchase date, and you can borrow points from the next year or save points from the current year (restrictions apply).  The points are sold to you as deeded property that is part of your estate.

I have had people tell me it must be nice to own such a luxury as time-share, and they are right.  All vacations would have to be considered luxuries, but I think it’s more of an issue of where you put your priorities.  We chose to spend money on time-share when we could have spent it on other, more typical, luxuries.  For instance, we’ve been married over 30 years and have bought two new cars in all that time.  Travel is a love of ours, but we’ve learned that travel without comfort just doesn’t work for us. 

Younger readers have the burden of being early in careers and, possibly, child rearing, but you also have the great luxury of a lifetime of trips.  Older readers may be more limited in number of years of ownership, but we are certainly more flexible in the dates we can travel.  We have never stayed anyplace we weren’t extremely satisfied with.  Resorts by nature are located where there are incredible things to do and see.  We have always loved the mountains and the beaches, so those are our typical trips, but historical sites like Williamsburg have been wonderful, too. 

Good luck.  See you down the road or maybe at a time-share sales meeting.  Just keep practicing.

Suggestion 8: You can’t get there without making the trip!

While we work, especially at a long-term profession like we did with teaching (65 years between us), we make decisions with a much different mindset than upon retirement.  I would argue most of my decisions were what would get us through the week, the day, or even just the morning.  Jobs just eat so much of our time.  Oh, we planned for retirement, but more as a thing out there sometime later.  Then later comes.

Salaries buy us options.  Wealth is a relative term, but I always defined it as having the choice to do or not do things.  Options.  And while many would say wealth is the result of substantial paychecks, I think frugal living is perhaps more important.  That discussion is for another time.  In this essay I want to pass

along another nugget we’ve discovered during retirement ---another one we didn’t see coming. 

When you retire (stop reading if you’re truly rich), when you live on a fixed income, you lose options.  Or more accurately you lose the mindset you had when paychecks were still coming in---the mindset that allows you to put off evaluating decision-making because you’re so busy.  I’ve written about work as the Great Distraction, and this is not intended as a repeat of that suggestion.  Rather this is another reminder that you will have time to reevaluate all those hurried decisions, and some, maybe lots, won’t look so good.

The point is the view we have on where we are, required us to be there to view it.  It is an interesting mental exercise to imagine different choices along the way with equally imagined outcomes, but it is just an exercise, a pretend game.  The road you traveled to get where you are was the road you traveled.  The decisions you made choosing your way were probably the best ones you could make with the time, resources, and knowledge you had.  Live a responsible life, show up for your family, show up for work, treat others as you wish to be treated, work on your weaknesses, and accept your limitations.  I suggest “bad” decisions are inevitable when judged by the 20/20 of hindsight.  Rather than be disappointed, use all “mistakes” as lights shining on who you were then and are now.  Good luck, and, yes, I already know I’ll look back on this essay with regret later!

Suggestion 7: Photo Books

This is another one of those ideas I wish I had known about while so many memorable events in our lives were happening.  Oh, we took loads of photographs and have them in numerous albums and boxes.  I look at them now and then and marvel just how many times we took basically the same picture so many times in a set.  Really, how many standing next to the “fill in the blank” pictures do you need?  When someone would look at one of our albums we would have a running commentary, usually filling in what the pictures left out.  We have changed.

We still take loads of pictures, and digital cameras have made that so easy.  What we do differently is take pictures with a finished book in mind.  It makes us focus on the images that will tell the story of whatever we are experiencing be it a trip, a gathering, or even just everyday happenings.  Of course, I’m describing photo books.  I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I am very knowledgeable about two companies; Sam’s Club and Snapfish.   I use Snapfish the most because it allows me more options than Sam’s Club.  However, options cost money.  Sam’s is by far the cheapest I’ve found.  There are others you can try.  Just google it.

The process requires some computer skills and an internet connection, but it is predictable and simple.  That does not mean this is a fast, easy job.  I’ve made 20 or so photo books and am working on more most months now.  First, you sign up online for an account at the service of your choice: snapfish.com or samsclub.com or whatever.  The Sam’s one is a little confusing at first since you have to go to the Photo tab to get to the right place.  Once you have an account you’ll need to upload the pictures you will use.  I usually upload many more pictures than I’ll actually put in the book, but it’s nice to have the options.  You can always upload more at any time, until you pay for the book!  The upload will take as much as an hour if you have a bunch of pictures, but 30-40 pictures takes just ten minutes or so.  Second, you’ll choose layout options and background options.  At first, I used thematic layouts like travel, but I choose now just a simple one with simple backgrounds.  I have gotten leather before but not lately.  I do like the ones with a photo covering the entire cover.  It just defines the event immediately, but I like them all.  This is the end of the easy part.

I’ve gotten much better at putting the book together just from experience, but it has also helped that we take photos with a finished book in mind.  That really helps.  You aren’t just taking a bunch of pictures; you are getting shots that tell the story.  I look at all the pictures, lay out a natural progression in my mind, and start placing pictures.  The templates allow you to put as many as 4 pictures on a page, and I do sometimes.  My wife suggested early on to only use layouts that let you use as much of the page as possible for your photos.  Of course the real work is composing the descriptions throughout the books.  About half my pages have something written; pictures can tell most of the story, but they do need some help!  Again, I keep my layouts simple with most pages having one picture, some with words, and the rest are just shots I couldn’t leave out even if they are somewhat repetitive.  That’s when I use the four on a page layout.  You can add as many pages as you want.  You get charged by the page after the basic charge for 20 or so pages.  I almost always have to add some pages, but that just means we have too many great photos to leave out.   

I’m sure some readers might feel an album will do the same storytelling, and they can sure stay with what works for them.  I can tell you we love these books!  They take up little room (they’re the size of a spiral notebook) and tell just one story at a time.  Our albums are great collections of memories, but they were designed to be just that: a place to store a load of photos. 

I hope some of you give this a try.  I have ten more I’ve started in my head! 

I am including some photos of two of our books.

This is a book our son made on a family trip to the Smoky Mountains.  The cover option he chose was a cutout showcasing the photo inside.

You can see how this format allowed space for a few words under the picture.

This is a format with a photo on the entire cover.

This is an example of four photos on a page all at the same restaurant/pigout event with our great friend, Allie Wilson.