Encouragement or Challenge?

 

I'm a firm believer that out of all bad comes some good. We might have to search for it, but we can find the good if we try. I think one of the positives that has come from the 2020 pandemic is that we realize how much our families mean to us. Of course, we always knew they meant a lot, but maybe now that fact has come to light in a bigger way. Especially for those who have lost family members this past year. It doesn't matter if the loss came through a covid illness, some other disease, an accident, or old age. Someone we knew and loved is gone.

I encourage you to write about those people you lost. Write about the kind of person he/she was. Write about the quirks and the antics and the love shown and what that person meant to you. Write about the sad parts of their lives, and with some, the bad parts. It's who they were. Sadly, we don't always realize what a person means to us until we have lost them. 

Besides encouraging you, I challenge you to write about those you lost and those in your family still here. Not everyone has lost a family member this past year, but we can all start writing those family stories that will live on forever once someone puts them down for others to read. 

You might find that the older you get, the more interested you are in your family stories and the people who have starring roles in them. Sadly, by the time some people become interested in their family history, the people who could have told them the most stories are gone. 

I would like to encourage young people to sit down with an older family member and talk with them. I mean 'really talk' not just swing through the house and say "Hi Gram, how are you doing today?" Young people seldom realize that their grandparents and great-grandparents are a treasure trove of family history, family happenings, and more. 

Don't rely on grandparents only. You probably have some aunts and uncles, great-aunts and great-uncles. They can add to the stories your immediate family tells you and add new ones of their own. 

Many families keep a record of births and deaths in the family bible. That's a good starting point. Ask your older relatives about family members listed in the family bible. You might open a treasure box. Writers often do writing exercises from a prompt of a photo or a short sentence. It's something to trigger your imagination. Those family records could trigger many stories. 

Sit down with an older family member and leaf through photo albums. Many of those photos will trigger stories you might not ever have heard. 

I often write a post about the importance of writing family stories, why, and how you can start a Family Stories Book. It's important to me, and I hope it either has been or will be something you want to do. Lots of people say they have the desire to compile a Family Stories Book, but the desire is as far as it goes. Where do you begin? With one story at a time. There are also plenty of books on writing your family stories. One of my writer friends has one recently published. You can find How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History by Annette Gendler at Amazon. Use your favorite search engine to find others.

If you've never written about anyone in your family before, make 2021 the year you begin. What better time than this new year coming on the heels of a most difficult 2020? If you haven't thought about how much family means to you during this pandemic year, I suggest you give it some thought. All those parents, step-parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins are a part of you. Honor them by writing their stories and gifting them to the present and future generations in your family. 

I usually encourage readers to write their family stories. Today, I am offering a challenge to do so.