a KISS for anna

keeping it simple for anna's 2nd birthday (with a placeholder pic of me)

in high school, i had an engineering teacher who probably taught me one of the best tidbits of advice: KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid

i've noticed that i'm not the only one who has reverted to living simply. and while some of you may read that as deprivation of the luxuries of life, i'd like to think that people understand that life is more than things. the trendy new bag or the cool, new electronic gadget will soon be out of style or obsolete and i'm learning that while i'm instantly gratified, the wow factor doesn't last more than a few weeks before i want a new thing. trust me, i struggle with this - i like nice things just as much as the next person.

even though i'm still learning to use KISS in my daily life, i do understand the notion of keeping it simple. i've always been touched by heartfelt, creative ways to show someone you care including a nice homemade meal, personalizing and handmaking gifts, or just simply sending a real letter (or embarrassing pictures) to an old friend.

i'm going to philly this weekend to see an old college roommate that i haven't seen in six years. before that we hadn't seen each other since graduation day, in may 2002 (gah, that was a long time ago). her daughter, anna, is turning two and i'm going to the birthday party.

k and her hubby have always been very level-headed, caring people and i shouldn't have been surprised to hear that instead of gifts for their daughter's birthday, they requested that family and friends create a scrapbook page for anna's birthday book.

so instead of having the latest dora toy that she won't remember and that won't hold any value once she runs it into the ground, anna now will have memories of all the people that she touched as a baby. while that doesn't seem like much right now, fifty years from now, she'll have an awesome, semi-"vintage", handmade, invaluable, book to cherish. how pretty is that?