I’ve started working on the Munchkin’s birthday present. I’m aware that her birthday is in December. And it’s only February. But when you have two parented kids with birthdays in November and all that holiday hoopla well, it’s kind of easy to get to the second week in December and go, “CRAP! I didn’t get that big project done!”

Not this year.

It’s a big one. Five and all. So I’m doing something special.

I’m making a photo book (ala Shutterfly) featuring pictures of us together from the past five years. I’m going all out and doing the big 12×12 book. More room for pictures and all around loving goodness. I haven’t yet thought of a catchy title. Other than maybe… Five Years in The Chronicles of Munchkin Land. Or something equally lame. And I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to simply caption photos…

of if I want to make a poem and/or story that makes its way through the book and photos that basically encapsulates our relationship together. I really think I’d like to do that… but it seems somewhat daunting. Of course, that’s the reason that I’ve never settled on any singular topic for a book-book either. It’s big and scary. I’m not quite sure how I could appropriately describe our relationship. Being age appropriate is vastly important. I wouldn’t want it to be too corny (ala, “once upon a time”) or too melodramatic (ala, “it was a dark and stormy night”) or too light (ala, “I’m nothing more than an extra person in your life”). Balance would be important.

I’m writing out loud, in case you didn’t gather, and right now? Captioning pictures seems easier. But less … real … somehow.

Anyway, I’m merely talking about it out loud, putting it here, so that I can remind myself to keep on top of this project. Hold me accountable folks. I’ll have to do a lot of scanning physical printed pictures from our first year and a lot of digital gathering up of the past three years. And make sure to take a lot of pictures from this year. But I can do this.

She’ll probably toss it off to the side in lieu of something cool like a toy. But someday I think it will mean something. No?