A Book of History

Starting today, gather things that represent a slice of your life: store receipt, child's progress report from school, museum map, a copy of the recipe you're going to use for dinner, gas receipt, etc., and glue them onto a blank piece of paper with today's date. If there's room, write why you were there, who was with you, if anyone, and whatever else you did during the day. This is your "A Day in the life of..." beginnings of your history.

Then, over the next few days, when memorable things occur, write it down and include, if possible, something that represents why it is memorable. For example, on the first day of school you could include a wish list from a teacher, a copy of that first paycheck on a new job, the receipt from a barber after the haircut that left way too much on the floor, or the business card from a real estate agency you were impressed with. After glueing or taping these things on paper, and writing notes, even brief notes, about them, put them into a three-ring notebook. As time goes by, you can dress up the pages if you want, or leave it as is. At least, you'll have a personal history, a family history, a book of memories to look at and remember.

For more serious matters, there should be a separate place to keep important documents like birth certificates, immunization records, citizenship records, death certificates, wills, vehicle purchases, financial information, etc. These records/documents should be kept in a safe place, all together where they can be reached easily. File folders or expanding folders work great for keeping important papers together. Copies of these documents can be added to your book, if you so desire, and will be interesting to thumb through much later.

Music

On my dad's side of the family, there used to be yearly family reunions (until the last remaining sibling died). At these gatherings, a few of the girls (ladies, really) would break out the violins, gather 'round the piano and play some of the favorite songs that "Grandma and Grandpa" sang and played. All of the twelve original children in this family knew these tunes quite well, and now a few of their children and grandchildren had learned the music to play at reunions in remembrance of "the good 'ol days!" There would even be a little dance included if the mood was right. At one of these reunions, when the music was played, I inquired about how to get a copy of this music to play for my children and keep for posterity (and because they were really quite fun to listen to). There didn't seem to be any written or recorded copies available. No one had been able to get it on a CD, tape recorder, or sheet music. I was really saddened because it seemed to be such an important part of my family's history, and it would be lost to all the descendants if it didn't get passed on to the rest of the children and grandchildren.

Music has always been a part of my dads family's history, so it should be included with a book of remembrance, or listed in journals; but because there's no "hard copy" to add, it looks like it's a piece of the puzzle that's missing; at least, for now.

This experience caused me to look at my own family and gather our favorite music together. When my children were young (16 and younger), we learned a few songs and would sing them at different times before a congregation at church. The children weren't too excited about it, but it was one of those "Mom" things that is required in our family. They do it because Mom says to, and hopefully something positive was gained by these experiences.

Whenever a piece of music can be included in a book, journal, or history, it helps us to know that family member better, tying us to him/her even more.

BIG questions, little questions...

The challenge of writing a life history about a family member, be it a spouse, parent, grandparent, or extended family member, is quite overwhelming. Where to begin? So many experiences, so many memories. When you can get a family member to sit still for more than a few minutes, ask some big questions like, "Where/when were you born?" "How many children were in your family?" "What do you remember about your childhood?" Have your relative elaborate and give specifics about these questions, like where was your first home, how many times did you move, what are your earliest memories of your home, etc.

One place to get some detailed questions to ask is from www.chipin.com/genealogy/family_history_questions.htm, entitled "Family History Questions."

To record your own memories, use these questions as prompts, and you'll fill up a notebook real quick! But what a great personal history!

Family cookbook, again!

Another note about cookbooks. Visit www.cookbookpeople.com and see how to create your own family cookbook. You can either upload your recipes to a cookbook stored online, or....you can buy their CD that shows you how to create a cookbook to print at home on your own printer. There's a scrapbook/cookbook section to add delightful tidbits of personality from each chef to each recipe. Quite interesting, and very well worth the time to explore!

This is what its all about!