Hard to find, supportive, and close to your heart. So true!
Last weekend I was in my closet organizing my shoes (exciting stuff!) when I found a hidden gem that made me laugh out loud. It wasn’t the family of dust bunnies taking up residence. Those didn’t even bother to hide.
My surprise find—tucked way in the back—was a scrapbook for a dinner club started nearly 10 years ago.
Here’s the story:
Before I started my business as a professional photo organizer, I had a long corporate career. I worked with wonderful colleagues who became friends and often felt more like extended family. We shared loads of work memories punctuated by all the other experiences life has to offer—raising families, losing parents, evacuating for hurricanes, and more.
When our company was acquired by a competitor, most of our jobs were eliminated. Not knowing exactly where each of us would end up for our next chapter, we decided to form a dinner club to stay connected.
We have seven members, official rules (even if they are a bunch of foolishness), a name, and a logo. Our name is the DD Club (pronounced “dee-dee” or “double D”) for Dinner and Drinks. Maybe. Our tagline is Food, Fun & Full Support. 😉 A little tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but our mission was to stay in touch and have a good time doing it.
Each month a different member hosted by choosing the date and the restaurant. That member was also tasked with creating a few scrapbook pages to memorialize the meal, the menu, and any fun little tidbits.
The DD Club scrapbook album was born!
As I stood there on Saturday morning purging worn-out tennis shoes and rearranging flip-flops, I decided I needed a break to page through the scrapbook. I had so many “Remember that time when …” moments all by myself!
Like remember that time when we went to a Mexican restaurant with our stick-on mustaches and sombreros and had so much fun that we got fussed at by the people at the table next to us? For the record, we were not that bad, and we did not ruin their dinner, despite what they may have said.
Or remember that time when we went to the Italian place and “May I have a straw?” was met with “Oh, let me see if we have one,” not once, not twice, but three times! Can we just get a straw?! Next thing you know, the guy is belting out opera like Pavarotti right next to us. No wonder he didn’t have time to find a straw. It was showtime!
That’s what albums do for us. They make us remember the special moments and the silly ones, too.
They’re meant to be shared and enjoyed, not shoved in the back of a closet gathering dust.
What are those memories that bring a smile to your face? Is it thinking about your children or grandchildren? Holiday celebrations? Wonderful vacations?
Don’t keep them hidden away only to be forgotten. Let’s gather your photos and stories and create beautiful albums that will have you smiling for years to come. It’s much more fun than organizing shoes.
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