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Reflections May 2013

Life Now

Making the Most of Memoirs

By Dusty Reed

Our lives today are a result of how we dealt with happenings in our youth. Children and grandchildren deserve to know what created the lifestyle and personality we experience today.

Where were you living in the '40s or ‘50s? What is your earliest memory of a special happening? These and myriad others are questions you can ask yourself and bring delightful memories to surface.

Our lives today are a result of how we dealt with happenings in our youth. Children and grandchildren deserve to know what created the lifestyle and personality we experience today.

This is a fun project not to be postponed as a project for a rainy day. It can be accomplished a little at a time by scribbling a note each time a memory comes to center stage.

It is important to write them. On your computer or with paper and pen in hand, list 10 or 12 endearing memories. Details can be added by going back to fill them in later.

With more free time that usually comes with retirement and many life experiences to choose from, taking time daily to write can be a healthy experience – and a time to offer gratitude, as well.

The first step is to simply get them listed. Details can be as short or as long as desired. Do not be concerned about spelling or phrasing with the first draft. The important thing is to get the memories written. As feelings rise when the endearment surfaces, these can be described with short phrases or just a word or two. Include your age or the year of its happening if possible.

The list of memories will grow. Follow the above sequence and then, when ready, fill in more detail, check grammar and spelling. This will be a wonderful legacy to give to grandchildren, grandnieces and nephews, and even your children. It is a very special gift for them.

Again, with time available, this can also lead to the writing of a close family member's memoirs, as well. For a parent, spouse, sister or brother, a small tape recorder can be a helpful tool as the other person, and maybe you, too, share special happenings along the road of life. The recordings can be transcribed into writing by someone so they can be shared with family members.

Even as an adult, I enjoyed listening to stories my father-in-law had fun sharing. Thank goodness, my mother-in-law wrote out many of those stories, as well as some of her own, and her grandchildren have them to pass on to their children.

Some ideas to get you started might be your wedding and children's births. Grandchildren enjoy learning about their parents' childhoods. Backing up to your own childhood memories can be fun to reminisce and bring out details from a generation unknown to grandchildren.

If photographs are available and there are memories surrounding the pictures, include those with the writing.

Did you once fall out of a swing or a hay mow? Did you receive lots of love from your family? Whether you did or not, write what you remember about how you felt. Did you help your grandparents or parents with chores?

What did you enjoy doing the most? The least?

I enjoy making notes when we are traveling. Household and community concerns take a back seat and allow dreams of my past to come to front and center as I relax and gaze out upon the scenery. I also deal somewhat with insomnia. Rather than rolling and tossing or lying there awake, I quietly take myself to a corner of the house where I will not disturb my household. Here I can allow thoughts of my past to surface and, as I write, my mind and body begin to relax. Sometimes I write for an hour or more; sometimes for only 15 minutes. This usually clears the sleeplessness. By pouring past thoughts onto paper and sometimes taking a special, warm thought back to bed with me, I can then find a restful sleep.

Seniors today have a first-hand viewpoint of history dated back into the second quarter of the 1900s. Many can, by expounding from personal experiences, insert lots of interesting details of history from that era. There will, most likely, be some gaps but the stories provide rekindled insights.

Once some detail has been given, a local newspaper might be willing to publish one's writing. This gives other seniors an opportunity to recall their own memories of similar experiences. What a delight!

 

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