Write Those Family Stories Soon!

 

As most of my readers know, I am a great proponent of writing your family stories. They are a major part of who you are and where you came from. The older one gets, the more meaningful those stories become. 

Today, I've been thinking of three people in my family. On May 31st eighty-four years ago, my parents were married. They eloped, telling no one, married by a Justice of the Peace. That wasn't such an unusual thing in 1938, the Depression still going on. But the fact that they kept the wedding a secret for six weeks is more unusual. I've written a story about that wedding, which many of you have read here. It's still a beloved story in my family.

The third person brought to mind today is my Aunt Vivienne. She was my father's older sister, and today is her birthday. I don't know what year she was born, but I'm guessing it was around 1910. She passed away many years ago, but I think of her on May 31st every year. She and I celebrated birthdays just two days apart. My aunt was a tiny dynamo. I doubt if she ever reached 5 feet, more like 4'10" She wore a size 4 shoe. Long ago, the sample shoes salesmen brought to stores were in that small size. Aunt Vivienne was able to buy those samples at a greatly reduced price. Thus, she had an extensive shoe wardrobe. She was a storyteller, amusing her daughter and I time and again, especially with stories about a naughty boy named Junior--my father. 

Many of us think of family members on certain days because of some special time such as an anniversary or birthday or even when that person passed away. Think about them, tell the stories, but please do write those memories, too. Write them for your family now and family to come. 

Telling stories is wonderful, but unless they are also written, they will be lost as generations go on. Some people might have the attitude of 'Who cares?' Most, however, would like to look back at family history and stories. The very young don't pay a lot of attention to such matters, but as people get older, they have more interest.

Recently, one of my husband's cousins sent us an enlarged photo of their extended family taken in 1937 at a summer gathering of several families. My husband was 2 years old, but he was able to find himself in the picture with no problem. The cousin asked Ken if he could identify some of the people she could not name. He spent a long time studying the photo and figuring out who each person was. I think he thought about the stories of many of those relatives, as well. Ken is not one who would write those stories, but he had an aunt who did, and now, I believe this particular cousin is doing the writing. I have written one of his family stories as a fiction based on fact story for middle grade kids. It has been published and a copy in my Family Stories Book.

Our poster today tells us that 'Family is a gift that lasts forever.' Make it last by writing your family stories.