A Quote--"Write What Should Not Be Forgotten"

You may be thinking that you don't ever want to think about this pandemic we're going through again. Some may be saying things like When this is over, it's over. I won't have any good memories of this sheltering at home time. Why would I want to remember millions out of work, people sickening and dying? 

That's possibly your thought mode now, but later, maybe a long time later, you might want to look back at this period of our history. We're living it now, but one day it will be history. Your great-grandchildren may read about the 2020s in their history books. Wouldn't it be great if you could pull out the journal you kept in 2020 to show them what living in 2020 was really like, that it was more than a few lines in a history book? Yes, it's not a good time in our lives, but I don't think we should forget it. Like yesterday's post about learning from failure, we should be learning from what we are living through right now. We also need something left to remind ourselves of the good things that have come from this period--kindness to others, gratitude, and more.

Your Pandemic Journal is not the only kind of memory writing you should be considering. There are so many parts of our lives that should be noted in our memories--dating, engagements, marriage, the birth of children, a first house, a first full-time job, and living with all those same things as your children grow to adulthood and beyond. And yes, you should keep the memories of the sad times, the bad times, as well. The tragic moments in our lives helped to shape the people we are just as happy times did. We're a full package.

As my regular readers know, I am a big advocate of writing family stories. Genealogy is important, but that involves dates and names--pertinent family facts. The family stories put a face onto those facts. Some family stories are good enough to be published, while others are meant strictly for family. They're the ones who have a personal interest. I have a friend who had 6 children. They all came down with chickenpox, one after the other.  Not only would it make a good family story, but help with the family medical history. Medical situations in a family should definitely not be forgotten, so if you heed Isabel Allende's advice to "write what should not be forgotten," you'll write about the good times, the sad times, the illnesses, and injuries. Joy, worry, fright, exhaustion, terror--all of these can be incorporated into a family story.

When you either keep a journal or write a family story, don't write facts only. Add your feelings, some humor if applicable, reactions, and more. Doing that will make your story come alive. So, please do "write what should not be forgotten."