Consider Your Memories A Lasting Gift

Novelist, Isabel Allende, got it right when she said that we should Write what should not be forgotten.

I was reminded of this last night when I was a sub in a Bridge group. Many of the women in the group have children close to the ages of my own. During our kids school years, our paths crossed on a frequent basis but then came years when I'd run into one of them occasionally, not regularly.

While we had dessert and coffee, we caught up on one another's life-- where the children were living, how old the grandchildren are, who had grandkids graduating this year and more. Old times were brought up, mused upon and laughed at.

There are so many parts of our lives that are exactly that--a part. We often change homes, friends, jobs and lots of other things as our life progresses. We all have periods we'd like to savor and some have times they'd like to never think about again.

Why not write about the times that you don't want to forget? They might not all be happy moments. There are difficult times that should be remembered for various reasons. One of them is to let your children, grandchildren and future family members know what happened to you and why it is a part of your family history. Maybe whatever happened is what made you the kind of person you are. Perhaps, it was a situation where medical information will make future generations aware of a genetic problem of some kind. We don't want to hide things like that, we should share them to help others.

We should most definitely write about the happy times, the places that soothed our souls, the people in our family whom we loved. If your mom made the best pot of vegetable soup on the planet, your family would love to hear about it. If your dad helped you make a Boy Scout or Girl Scout project, writing about it will show your family the love your dad had for you. It's not always a major accomplishment that a newspaper would feature that you'll want to write for your family. It's the little things that matter. It's seeing a personality trait in an ancestor that you may have yourself. So that's where I get it! might be your reaction when you read about a particular habit Aunt Sadie had.

Write about the times, places and people you don't want to forget. If you don't, they will most definitely get lost. Don't let your memories float away on the sea of time. Your memories are a gift to both your present and future family members.