Monday, November 2, 2009

What's YOUR Story?


Okay, everyone has a story to tell, but what is YOUR story? What do you want to make sure that your kids and grandkids know and remember about you? We recently had a death in our family and besides the regret of losing someone we love is the regret that we never got the real story about the time they ...

One of my very favorite stories to gather from married couples is about how they met, married and spent their early life together. Often times, that story dovetails in with the Great Depression and World War II, so they always have fascinating tidbits about how they handled challenges and even thrived during such times of turmoil.

As one of my clients pointed out recently, they just took life in stride, both the good and the bad. "That's the way it was for everyone, so you just dealt with it." No whining, no complaining, no blaming someone else. Perhaps that is what made them the Greatest Generation as Tom Brokaw called them in his book of the same name. Tom Brokaw said, "When the United States entered World War II, the U.S. government turned to ordinary Americans and asked of them extraordinary service, sacrifice, and heroics..."

Whether you have endured life-threatening hardships or triumphed over minor catastrophies, your stories are an important part of you and your heritage. Make an effort today to share your story with someone you love.

1 comment:

Edith said...

As a middle ager, knowing and sharing family stories is becoming very important. I really like the fact your are emphasizing the importance of children gathering the stories also. Oral history at one time was the main history and then it went by the wayside. Glad to see you making it happen.