'Tis the season.

It's Memory Season. I'm sorry. Were you expecting me to say "holiday season"? Well, of course, you're right. But when you think of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, maybe Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, doesn't it bring back memories? Holidays are family time and family time creates memories or stirs memories of the past. You remember that holiday as a kid. Thanksgiving with Gramma. Christmas morning with your siblings. New Year's Eve with a special loved one. Are they all still with you? Are they still reminding you what you did when...? You're lucky if that's the case. You are still re-living those memories every year. Sitting around the Thanksgiving table recalling how Gramma always makes her special pie or stuffing. How you overcooked or undercooked your first turkey. Your baby's first taste of pumpkin pie. You remember all those special occasions and more importantly why they were special. Who was there. What they said. How many conversations will start this year with "Remember when...?" or "I'll never forget..." But what happens to the stories when the story teller is not there? Will someone be missing this year, or next? What happens to those stories then? Who will "remember when"...then? If you know all the old stories, you are now the storyteller. What happens if you can't be there? What happens if you're the one that's gone next year? How do you make that special pie or stuffing? Did you get Gramma to tell the story of earlier Thanksgivings last year? Can she do it this year or is it your turn? Memories are only as good as the storyteller with the information. In native cultures, it's tradition to repeat the stories as history for new generations to know and re-tell. You've been meaning to write it all down or to tell someone else in the family who is willing, and able, to remember. Why? This is the year to do it...write it down, record it, scrapbook, whatever form you choose to preserve the memories. Oh, you can make plans to "git 'er done" after the rush of the holidays pass. But will you? Elaborate plans take time to plan, start, carry-out and see the project through. The hardest part is starting. Do you need a camera, video or audio recorder? Get it out NOW! Of course, you've got pies to bake, rolls to knead, vacuuming and dusting. Is a camera or digital recorder really going to be in your way or unsightly amidst your decorations, if you get around to using it? It's a move you will never regret. It might take time to get around to editing, whether it's video or audio, or if you plan to type out the recordings. But you won't regret taking that first step, and you're more likely to get around to working on that plan to finally write it down...to create a scrapbook, a digital photo book, a family history...the permanent memory that will be there when no one really remembers. No one will have to ask the question "do you remember when" when finally the actual memory may be gone. And you can be sure someone will "remember" even if you can't or you or the storyteller is gone. This is the year to make more of those memories than just more stories around the table. You can "write it down" regardless of what form you choose...just start.

Tell me a story. How often have you heard those words? If you're a parent or grandparent, probably more often than you think. Obviously some people relish story time, but have you considered you actually do it daily? We are a species of storytellers. No, not necessarily crafting a new fictional tale of mystery or humor daily, but you, and I, all of us, tell stories daily. What did you do for the weekend? How was your last visit to your hometown? to the beach? the mountains? this year's hunting or fishing trip. Those are the daily stories, simply answering...what did you do? We tell stories daily of shopping trips, fishing escapades, near-miss accidents or injuries, school events or sports. These are "the stories of our lives" to use a somewhat cliche term. We tell stories every where we go to everyone we see...yet how often do you think to "write it down." That's been a mantra of mine for several years, and yes, I have trouble practicing what I preach. But please, if it's worth telling once or twice, maybe it's worth writing down. I had lunch with a friend this week during which she related how she happened to grow up in southern Maine versus where she was born "in the county," Aroostook County, Maine's largest and remote county...a place that conjures up visions of farms and fields and desolation and distance. Was she making excuses or trying to explain why her family gave up the mystique of the northern Maine life to live in the urban settings of southern Maine. It was of little consequence why, but more important a story and a lifestyle that she remembers and her children and grandchildren will never experience. She went on a bit about how her grandparents lived and how her parents were forced to leave the same setting for "greener" pastures in the south, more jobs and opportunities to support a family. It's fascinating to hear how other people lived or live. She obviously relished the lost lifestyle of her memory, but she also holds memories that no one else will know unless. she write's it down. Yep, I did it. I asked her. "Have you written it down?" At that point, the people who know me better roll their eyes. She's doing it again. Yep, that's me. Please write it down. If you remember grandparents, their lifestyle, their stories or their experiences...write it down. Do your children know that lifestyle? Did they experience those people? Chances are they didn't. And, they and their children or grandchildren, or even great-grandchildren won't know or understand that life. They don't really need to understand it, if they just know about it. They need to know where they came from and how or why your family has certain beliefs, traditions, or choices of lifestyle. We are a people of stories and stories keep our traditions and our connections to our past. They define who we are and why we follow certain paths in our life or choose our careers or where we live out our lives. Why are you here, in this place, and at this time? Why do you have that job and not what your grandparents did or did you follow their choices for yourself or to continue their legacy? People want to know. Your people want to know, whether it's tomorrow, next week, next year, or 20, 30 or 100 years from now. Your people want to know you and your past; what did you do in your life and why? It may not interest your children or grandchildren now, or have they asked? But it could easily interest your great-grandchildren or their children. And who will tell them, if not you. Write it down...before it's gone, and you're gone.