Sometimes it is hard to figure out what to do with Heritage heirlooms. I found this article very interesting and want to share with you all.
Do you sometimes think that your kids or grand kids aren't interested in hearing about their heritage? It may be more about the lack of time in their busy schedules to sit and listen than the fact that they are not interested. Someday when we least expect it, they will ask and want to know about how things were when we were little or when we were their age. Or maybe why Aunt Mable looks different than everyone else in the family.
Often family members pass away or things are unrecorded about family members and we are left with old pictures unmarked or possessions that we don't know anything about. I can't tell you how many Antique Stores or garage sales where I see these hidden treasures.
There once was an article that I read that stated that it is a proven fact that if you don't have a story or journal entry about an item or picture, the third generation will have thrown those things away. To me, that is a nightmare to think that all those pictures that I have taken would be thrown away without someone knowing about them.
So before our time slips away, consider the gifts that you can give this holiday season. It can become a family treasure. Write a journal, or make a heritage scrapbook to include those family photos. You can mix in the old photos and clippings with stories you have or that you remember about those family members. You don't have to include every picture that you have for each event however it is good get those stories and memories out of the cobwebs of your brain and put them on paper.
You don't have to worry so much about grammar or punctuation. What is important is to start keeping some type of life history...for you and for ancestors.
As you contemplate this project, memories may come flooding back. I know for me, I sometimes randomly hear a song or smell a scent and it reminds me of a past memory. At that point, I should write them down. I am also known to travel and keep a journal so that when I return home to create my scrapbook, I have all the info to make it come together. Sometimes you take so many pictures that you can't remember the sequence so it helps to have a journal of your trip or life experiences to keep things in order.
You may have elderly loved ones who can't or don't want to write a family history, but still have a sharp memory. Have him or her help you identify the people in old photos. Maybe he or she will also be able to tell you something heartwarming or funny about those people in the photos.
Heritage scrapbooks are beautiful mementos, but you don't have to give your children something that fancy. After years of questions about my family ancestry, both of my Grandmothers gave me a treasure box of family history. One grandmother gave me a sweet story of her life, complete with pictures of her parents and family members that I can now pass on to my grandchildren. She wrote it in her handwriting, which is beautiful I might add. She also gave us a basic beginning with where she was born and how she and granddad came to be. Then each year for Christmas she gave us a new chapter to add to the binder. It was the best gift I could get each year. My other grandmother gave me genealogy of our family back to the 1400's. She and my grandfather wrote in their own words how they met and how life was when they were growing up. It is such a blessing to me to have all this knowledge, for both of my grandmothers have since passed. I hope I can leave a history as precious for my grandchildren.
I encourage you as you approach this holiday season that we concentrate on the things that have meaning such as our family history, and create a heritage or family history album for our families. Remember, you don't have to do all of your history today you can build upon it. Enjoy creating your history and sharing it with your legacy.
By Janey Pumphrey, MemoryWorks TeamWorks Member
