Monday, November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Fun

This week is the perfect time to work with children and grandkids about what they remember and like best about Thanksgiving. One family custom we enjoy is to go around the dinner table and have everyone tell what they are most grateful for this year. Even young children catch on quickly to the idea.

Preserving Thanksgiving stories is easy with the use of my simple Keepsake for Kids ebook, which is available at no cost on my website, www.bethlamie.com in the Products tab. Kids can write their own responses to the prompts or work with an adult. Then they can either draw something about what they remember or attach a photograph.

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.