Saturday, August 4, 2012

Days of a life

Days of a life by Damian Gadal
Days of a life, a photo by Damian Gadal on Flickr.
All those experiences we've had during our lives can be gone in a flash, really, an instant is all it takes.  That's not such a bad thing, but over the years a lot of family history can be lost.

If you're like me, you may have parents that are getting up there in years whose memories are becoming more unreliable, making it hard to separate fact from fiction, and that will only get worse.

I'm lucky and have a good relationship with my mom, and enjoy spending time with her, and helping her around her place.

The thing that I've found extremely rewarding is helping her with setting up a Facebook page (though it's not about being on Facebook), scanning old photos, listening to stories (though you get the hear the same ones over and over), and posting this info online (with discretion) so that other family members who live in far off places can enjoy it.

My mother has kept journals and written poetry for most of her life, so we've been able to build her a blog, and a Google Plus page.

The point of all of this has been to really engage with my mom, cull interesting stories I've forgotten about, and to share with family.

Our memories of special moments don't have to be lost like tears in the rain.  We can pass them along.  It's like curating family treasures before they get lost to the sands of time, and building a stronger connection to your roots.

The days of a life count for something, and that should never be forgotten.

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