Look to your parents. Your grandparents. Your siblings. Your friends. You and me.
Some knowledge just NEEDS to come from others. We learn from our experiences and from others experiences. We learn from the positive influences in our lives and we learn from the negative as well. Everything is a learning situation. This is one reason I love Blogs. We are sharing our personal knowledge and it will live on and never be lost.
Remember - you are definitely part of the past and you are also part of the future.
I know I have learned so much from my parents and the stories I heard about their parents and families. I learned from my siblings. I have learned from friends and all of you. I have learned so much about my strength from learning about my ancestors. I also know that a part of me will be remembered and go on with the younger folks in the family.
Some people could care less about learning about their ancestors. That is ancient history! Not so much. You may not have personally known these people - but they are in you and your DNA What those people went through is amazing. We DO get many of our traits from those of long ago.
They went through foreign and civil wars. They went through poverty and the great depression. They went great loss and despair. They went through good times and good fortune. So much.
I had a 6X great grandfather that was captured by Indians and later rescued, we had many business owners, we had farmers, we had Amish in recent generations, we had very poor people and wealthy people.
Luckily I have many stories passed down from my folks. I try to pass those on as well. But what about YOUR story...….. your dreams, your hurts, you recipes, your goals, your hobbies, your ideas and thoughts, your life?
Pass those stories on.
NOW is the time to write your story. When you are no longer on this earth - those stories are lost forever!!!!!!
If given a chance talk with parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents - get the stories NOW!!!!!!! Write them down, do not depend on your memory.
We are more like our ancestors than we can possibly imagine. The stories are real and fascinating - they are us.
JUST REMEMBER - had one ancestor in your lineage not endured and had the strength to survive - you wouldn't be here. It's that simple!
We have each gone through good and bad, happiness and sadness, loss and heartache, health and sickness, security and insecurity...……………….. and through it all, no matter how awful or good - you woke up this morning. You are reading this. You have survived! In my book that makes you a success!
Isn't that worth passing on? The knowledge of your survival may just help another. You may be someone's inspiration. Your ideas may help another. That is what it is all about.
FAMILY HISTORY is everything. It is who we are, like it or not.
Don't let it go to the grave with you!
It is PRICELESS information.
I love family history. I remember as a child asking my mum to tell me about the olden days. Her stories about her childhood and her granny fascinated me. Mum was born in 1916 so all those people are long gone.
ReplyDeleteI love family history as well. Mom was born in 1911 - so gone here as well. I had her write down many of the stories she told of her aunts and uncles and grand parents.
DeleteThey will never be lost now!
Uhm have you met my family?....:)
ReplyDeleteLOL - Noooo but I have seen some of your stories. Even those colorful souls make us who we are today. They are part of the story.
DeleteWe had a friend who died at 105 or so. Her name was Anna Gill and she wrote a book about her family history called "From Oxcarts To Airplanes". She started writing when she was over 80! She is a true example of it's never too late to start writing a book.
ReplyDeleteI love that. I have a friend from high school who has started writing about her family history.
DeleteI have my Moms journals, and have always said I would publish them for the grands to have.
Thanks - that gives me encouragement.
I love this, I have many stories that I have thought of writing on my blog even...My parents, my grandparents, history of gg grandparents... I have funny ones, historical ones. When my father was at military school and even when I was growing up he was quite a character. Yes, I need to write those. And I agree with you, those before us are treasures. That is a neat thing about visiting the nursing home, there are marvelous people and stories there, soldiers from WWII, one who stayed at a cathedral in Normandy, one of the first to liberate France. He was a good looking rascal even in old age.
ReplyDeleteGreat and wise thoughts here. So, so true. You got it right. ~Amelia
Oh please write those stories down so they are never lost. I think blogs can be a journal of sorts. They let us put a lot info out there for the now and the future.
DeleteOur elderly and our families are libraries of information. They are us and they made us so much of who we are.
Whether our family stories spark joy or regret - they are part of us and the future.
Thanks Amelia.
What a lovely post!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately so much information is lost in my family since most of them are gone now. I tried to get my dad to fill out one of those grandparent books for my kids, but he didn't wrie down his memories. At least they have memories of good times with him.
I hate that for you. My Mom was good at telling the stories and Dad a little. I started researching and actually found HISTORY with Dad's family. Actual history of the country. It was so amazing.
DeleteYou may be able to find some info if you searched. Even if you have some distant relatives, you might catch up with them and they may know things.
Glad the kids have those good memories.
excellent words Cheryl! used to be people kept daily diaries...with keyboarding and computers no reason why we cannot resume this good practice...set aside time before bed time to record thoughts, use your cell phone during the day to record notes, etc...hopefully I will now follow my own advice and recommendations! :-))
ReplyDeletelook what I just found! http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
DeleteIt really can be easy today. I think it is something we should all do. If you know someone older who isn't comfortable with electronics buy them a journal, so they can write stories.
DeleteI hope you do - your grandchildren will thank you someday!
Thanks I bet there are several places that can get us started. Thank you!!!!!
DeleteBahahaha. Kim is on a roll today. I love reading up on family history and yours is especially good to read, Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteShe is funny! Thanks. I think there are some pretty interesting stories. I wish I had been interested more when I was younger. It took losing people to peak my interest.
DeleteOut My Window, I laughed out loud when I read your response - it's just what I always think about my family! However, Cheryl, once again you have given me food for thought. About three years ago one of my nieces did an in depth Genealogy search and it was fascinating. Your post makes me want to write about my memories of my Mom and Dad. Sadly, I only knew my maternal grandpa as all others had died before I was born. Thanks, Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteI hope you write them down. I am glad to be of service!
DeleteI only remember one grandparent as well, and didn't see her much. She wasn't especially loveable - I just wish we had talked more about stuff.
We all have 'some of those' people in our families. I think that is what makes it interesting.
Get busy!!!!!!
Interesting? Hmmm! I'll have to ponder that, Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteThe stories I have read have always made me smile. I know there were things NO ONE would talk about - taboo stories. I found them later and they are interesting. So many things were secrets back in the day - and today they are just history!
DeleteTrue - I like that - it's all just history!
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