52 Reasons: Documenting the Not-So-Good

The Sleeping Bear Dunes area of Michigan is one of our favorite places in the country, and we try to make a trip up there every year. Last year we planned an epic 10-day camping vacation, and we were super excited about it.

Unfortunately, the morning we were scheduled to leave, I woke up feeling awful. I tried to fight through it to get us packed up and ready to go, but I felt like death. About half-way through the 8 hour drive, J reached over to discover that I had a high fever. For rational people that would have been a good point to turn around or maybe find an urgent care center. But not us. I convinced him it was only a 24-hour bug and that I would be fine the next day.

I spent the next five days miserable in our campsite. I refused to go to a doctor, and the only reason I can think of to justify that decision was that I was in some kind of fever-induced delirium. There were good points during the trip, moments when I felt well enough to enjoy some time at the beach or around town, so it wasn't a total loss. But overall, I was miserable. I couldn't sleep, could barely breath, and I was in a lot of pain.

So how do you document a trip like this? How do you scrapbook the times that you want to remember but that you'd also sorta like to forget?

I put it off for a long time. I knew I would make a mini album eventually, but I wasn't sure how to approach it. Finally, this month I decided to tackle the project, and I made the decision to focus on the good.

I'm not completely ignoring the fact that I was sick or that there were times during the trip that were incredibly difficult for me, but I'm not focusing on those times. I've made note of my illness, mentioned a few of the issues I was facing, but then moved on to the parts that I want to remember most. We took some beautiful pictures and had some really wonderful moments. That's what I want the album to be about.