Harvest your memories

It would be great to get that dependability bug. You know the one where you do what you're expected to do, or expect yourself to do, when you're expected to do it. In retirement that seems to have escaped me, even tho' I do get a bunch done. The last post to this page was in the spring, just before planting season. And now, here we are, and it's harvest season...not that I have to worry about that much...rotten garden results this year. One more year and if it doesn't get better, I'm done...back to the grocery freezer section or hopefully supporting local farmers' markets. Harvest season brings about many traditions and perhaps starts new ones for some. Is this the time you are harvesting or remembering harvests in the past? What do you remember, or how do you observe a harvest season? Is it something your family has always done or something you plan to share with your children or grandchildren? This year, I hope to revive our "boiled dinner day." If not in the same way or the same famiy members, at least to not let the fall pass without hosting a boiled dinner in the crisp fall air. In the past, our extended family would gather at the family camp (where we now live) to help us close up for the season. Many of them got to use the camp during the summer months, and this gathering was a way to gather more help for the many tasks, as well as celebrate the end of another season, sharing the new memories of the season, and perhaps seasons past. Harvest time can be a rich time of memory making whether it's an actual harvest, a regular fall gathering or multiple trips to fall sports events. What is it you want to capture from those memories and how will you do it? Do you need to do it? This is yet another fall if you haven't captured the memories of past fall events or an aging member of your family. This is a reminder, to me and hopefully to anyone else reading this to capture it....write it down, save or copy old photos, maybe tackle or update a scrapbooking project. If you haven't done any of this, maybe this is the year to start. It's never too late, if you can just get started. One memory preserved is simply that one memory, but it can snowball (sorry for the wintery reminder) and help you continue the journey. You can preserve your memories or those of family members or start a collection of family history for the next generation to share, simply....Write it Down. Like me don't worry so much about what you'll do for your next task, begin with this memory, this season.