May Already? and a Freebie

Wow, where does the time go? It's May already! I can tell I'm getting old because of how fast the time flies compared to how slow it was when I was young. I thought each school year would never end...thought I would never get my driver's license, thought I would never graduate high school, thought I would never get finished with college....the list goes on and on. Now I barely blink and I've lost a day, a week, a month, or a year! Geesh! Here it's almost Mother's Day again! Before we know it, it will be Father's Day, then Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then we'll mark the end of another year! Yep, I'm getting old...marking my month's by the holidays, lol.

I remember taking my kids on their first train ride, what doesn't seem like that long ago and what a "novelty" it seemed like! My mom traveled by train when I was little... and guess what?! They're making a come back! At least from a freight standpoint and if gas prices continue to rise the way they are passenger cars may be the growth spurt as well as we look for affordable alternatives to vacation. I read an article in "The Columbus Dispatch" today "Freight by Rail Enjoys Comeback,"about the rail road industry experiencing it's largest growth in a century. Yep, 100 years! (At least it's not senility making me think that I'm spending more time waiting for trains than I used to.) With all the airlines cutting back on flights, the smaller airliners like Sky Bus closing; it could very well be the "new trend" in the not so distant future. Columbus has been debating about re-introducing the street cars as a mode of transportation as the cost of gasoline increases and have had several articles in the paper recently adressing the need. In fact over the past two days there have been at least three articles on the subject... Streetcars Aren't For All, Streetcars will Ultimately Benefit Everyone, and Critics Have Their Say In Street Car Plan. That's a lot of journaling space in two days for one subject. Even Cincinnati is debating the subject of Streetcars as published in The Enquirer with an article about how Streetcar Debate Continues. That is just a couple of Ohio Metro Areas, I can't help but wonder what other areas are debating the same thing in other states. It will be interesting to see what comes of this...I will have to journal the progress I guess because who knows what the transportation mode will be in the next 40 years and my grand children may be shocked at how much we drove cars as much as they will be about the fact that we actually entertained ourselves outdoors and not on game systems in front of the TV.

Speaking of journaling.... I find it very challenging to actually journal in my scrapbooking. I share short little blurbs here and there but don't really "journal." Having lost my mom a few years ago and my Grandmother turning 90 I am spending a little more time thinking about the past and wondering how will the children ever know about their heritage, where they came from, what kind of challenges and opportunities were available to their ancestors...etc.. What kind of Living Legacy will be left for them to reflect on? So, I have been honored with the opportunity to host the "new" Journaling Challenge at Deco Pages. If I have these thoughts I am sure that others do too. So May is the first month for 3 new challenges at Deco Pages. The Journaling Challenge is new, there is the "Lyrics Challenge" being introduced by Iwannaalife and a brand new "Gallery Hunt Challenge" hosted by Mom2triplets04, that all debut today. They are all being hosted by Creative Team Members and can be found in the Creative Team Sponsored Challenges forum at Deco Pages. The three of us have collaborated and created 6 new QP's for our participation rewards and for the Month of May they are made with Deb Ammerman's "Roses for Mom" kit. The theme for the Journaling Challenge, in honor of Mother's Day, is Relationships with "Mother, Grandmother, Mother-in-Law or any other "mother" figure that has had an impact in our lives. I think this is a great way to kick off the "Living Legacy" journey. I hope that you will join me there.

Here is the preview to the QP's that I will be offering to our participants for the Journaling Challenge.

Here is my page kicking off my "Living Legacy"

In honor of Mother's Day I would like to share a Word Art that I have created. You may pick it up here, or click on the preview to take you to the download.

Thanks for reading this, have a wonderful day!