My mom recently gave me a real gem of a gift. She had found my great-grandfather’s medical dictionary which he had used while training in medical school to become an Internist. Knowing that using vintage book pages is a really cool thing in scrapbooking, she tore out a small section of this old book to give to me. The book is beyond repair and literally falling apart, so what she did was not as shocking as I originally thought, and once I got over that initial “OMG, what did you just do?!” moment, I thought about adding the pages to a mini album, using them as a photo mat, making cards, or selling some in my shop on Etsy. But then I took a really close look at them, through the macro lens of my camera, and saw how special they are, at least to me. You see, I am a Cardiology technician at a large hospital, and Cardiology is my thing. It’s not only my bread and butter, but it’s what I do that I love during the day (until I put my ‘super scrapbooker’ cape on at night). While I was an EMT student eons ago, I had to study medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, CPR, how to set a broken arm as well as how to deliver a baby, etc., etc., and when it came time to study the heart and cardiac rhythms, the instructor went through the basics quickly (we were behind in the lesson schedule) things just clicked for me. So while every other student in the class was scratching their heads saying, “Huh?”, I was looking around at them saying, “You don’t get this? This is so cool!!”. Thus, a position in a Cardiology department at a local hospital a few years later was written in the stars.
So, that’s why this little piece of my history is such a gem to me. My mother intentionally chose this section for me (aaaw!), and now I can’t part with it! It’s not just that this pertains to a subject near and dear to my heart (pun intended), but this book is from my great-grandfather and dates from 1839. I am such a sentimental nerd, I know, and I just wanted to share. Don’t you have something passed down to you that is sentimental because it seems meant just for you? Share it with me, I’d love to know about it!
I also want to extend a huge Thank You to everyone who has been visiting my shop, Retrospect. I have been utterly overwhelmed with the wonderful response I have gotten to the Christmas items I have created!! I am so amazed and flattered and pleased, but each item I create is done by hand and is very time-consuming, and sometimes expensive. I work full-time during the day, and I simply have not had enough time during the evenings to keep up with the demand, so I have therefore stopped production for now to take a needed break. I do apologize, but I have recently made myself sick trying to keep up with a minimum amount of sleep, and that’s not good. So, for my sanity, and for the sake of my family, I need to take a little time to take care of myself and them, so I can be back in December for a lovely, happy, healthy season. See you then!
