Thursday, October 22, 2015

Memories

Remember when you were a kid and you used to get sent to your room and you weren't allowed to watch TV?
What did you do to get sent to your room?
Is that a laughable minute for you?

My daughter would get sent to her room for being naughty, but instead of saying that she couldn't watch TV, and there was no TV in her room, we told her that she couldn't read.
You would have thought that, as parents, we were trying to kill her.
Not being allowed to read was the worst thing we could do.

I remember this because I wrote it in my journal, thought I'm not sure I'd forget, no matter what.

She laughs.

So many things happen to us each day, and in this world of unlimited information, it's really hard to keep track of happenings all of the time.
Memories are made and often, quickly forgotten.
Memories are so important in families.
Memories tie one generation to another generation.
If you've ever attempted to construct your family tree, you realize that so much of your history has been forgotten because those who made the history are deceased.  
Questions develop that cannot be answered.
One can only speculate.

Memories are important in each family, too.
Families can be united by memories.
Of course, there are those families where things are better forgotten than remembered.  
I'm not talking about these families.
I am talking about families who are functional.
Where, even if the memory might not be pleasant,
the memory brings forth love to bind them closer together.

So,
Make a memory today.
Get out of your house.  Go for a walk in the snow.  Dance in the rain.  
Memories don't have to be expensive.
Read to your kids.  Take them to the library.  Go to a book club.  Read a book.
You decide, then record that memory.
Make a photo book of a trip.
Take pictures and label them.
I've gone through photos and thought, "Who is this person?"
Write the memory in a journal.
For recording memories, I prefer the written word, if it's possible.
If not, use your technology.  Keep an online journal.
Just make sure you back it up!

Memories are important to pass on from generation to generation.
Kids love to hear stories of their moms and dads when they were kids.
Kids love to hear stories of grandma and grandpa when they raised their parents.

Memories.
Record them.
Preserve them.
The stories you'd like to tell to your children might not be accessible in your brain when you are ready to tell the stories. 
Do it now!
You won't be sorry.
 
 

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