Book Covers Wish #38

One of the wishes we have for Magpie is about our hope she learns that a books value is not necessarily dependent on it's cover.

Let's use me as an example, let the horror of my book cover come to light!

So here's some words people might use to describe me if they meet me for 1 hour, yeah, 1 FULL hour, cause we all know that's waaaay more than enough time to read the cover and the book. Analytical, logical, straightforward, no nonsense, jeans/t-shirt fashion sense, independence, a planner, high morals, deeply ingrained beliefs and thoughts, stubborn, aloof ... I admit it, you've got me, damn, horrors, I am an engineer. Yeah, what I sucker huh? But that's not all I am.

For those who haven't gotten to know me for more than a few hours or maybe at most a few days, they think that's all there is to me. And when I say "get to know me", that implies actually talking with me about life and things in general, not just occupying a room with me for a bit of time. They might be led to believe, by their lack of knowledge or willingness to bother to get to know me, that I am only about black or white, right or wrong, yes or no. They might be put off by my strength, my logic or opinions. They might believe that my raw honesty is an affront to their inability to to handle that type of personality. They might even think I am incapable of understanding their life, their experiences, their point of view, their dreams and loss. They might even think that because my book cover does not look like their book cover that mine is inherently wrong. Alas, such is life.

They would simply be caught in judging a book by it's cover. And hey, everyone has that right, though it can easily be argued that judging a book by it's cover is a slippery slope, sort of like throwing stones in a glass house, but that's a topic for another time.

Under the veil of my book cover lies an awful lot more Magpie. The cover hides my incredible shyness, my fear of failure/need to succeed, my deep deep incredibly raw thoughts about life, love and loss. Dare to pull off that cover and underneath is an awful lot more. A deep concern for humanity, for justice. A passion for music and theatre. An understanding that there is not one right family model or parenting model. A love of my closest friends, an unwavering need and desire to support people in a time of need, a belief in the underlying goodness of people, a willingness to say the truth even if it's not popular (horror huh?). A love of landscaping. A passion for travel, for new cultures, for new experiences. An acceptance of some fundamental differences in the people around your Dad and I.

A person who thinks that everyone has the capability to understand, to overcome, to persevere.

And then there is, hang onto your hat, a creative side. VERY surprising when people first find out. yup, my brain has balance, the book cover is a facade after all. Sure, I apply logic to my creativity (oxy moron huh?), whether it's with color, or timing, or whatever. I enjoy needle pointing, decorating the house, though my style might be considered 'classic' and not cutting edge! I enjoy cooking, though mostly desserts and especially cookies, no, not those plain choc chip types either! I enjoy photography too, but mostly places and things, still haven't gotten the knack of people pictures. I love to apply my creativity to the outdoors too, the landscaping is a carefully laid out plan of colors, blooming season, light requirements, etc., I adore watching it grow. There are many many more facets for those willing to see.

And, as you can see in this post, I've really enjoyed learning to scrapbook.

I started this about 4 years ago, collecting 'stuff', obtaining 'tools', even subscribing to magazines and buying books. No coincidence, I started this 'hobby' shortly after your Dad and I decided to have children. Though for most of the first year I just "collected" and read, the engineer in me I guess. But I just couldn't scrapbook, it was the shear fact that I started this hobby as a way to chronicle life for our children. It became a heavy burden to carry, all that crap and no kids. All those ideas so deeply entrenched and intertwined with a family we didn't have yet. One of the many many things we put on hold while we 'waited', hoped and dreamed.

It took a long time to get over the link between our dream of a family and the idea of scrap booking. Even now, with this latest project I still thought of you and of the past. I still ached to put your story to words. One day Magpie, one day. So I leave you with pictures of my latest projects. A pair of scrapbooks for the daughters of friends of ours, these are some of my favorite pages from these books. I've now gotten to the point where when someone asks for a scrapbook, I find a way to do it, to get beyond the fact that we're still not scrap booking about our family. The next few projects, will include the travel journal for your Dad and I, a book for a friend to use for her charity events to help encourage donors to be generous as they see the fruits of their labor and then one day... one day before we know it, it will be your time.

So when you think I'm just all logical, tough, edgy, all that 'yuckiness', I'll pull out your scrapbooks to remind us both of all the facets of your mom and all the facets of people in general.

Here's to looking beyond the cover on a book and taking the time to really get to know the people in your life. What you find may surprise you for the better, though it may also require you to let go of your assumptions, which for a lot of people means accepting that they might be wrong.

No doubt Magpie, we all judge a book by it's cover, we're all wrong from time to time, but more important is the ability to risk being wrong. I guess in the end Magpie, we wish for you the ability to recognize the difference between a cover and a book and to not hold one item against the other, lastly the ability to accept and admit when perhaps you lept to judgement incorrectly.