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.