Your Snow Day assignment

The weather forecast calls for snow...again. What to do on a snowy day? If you're like me, you have stacks, boxes or pages of family photographs. But are they marked with identification? Have you poured through boxes of pictures from your family's past, and lamented that no one ever identified them? If you truly have nothing to do on a snowy day consider pulling out some of those old pictures and identifying them for your family. Let them know which one is Uncle Joe or Cousin Lulu. Better yet, tell the story of how you're related to this batch of photos. I'm not suggesting you start a scrapbook, but maybe that's your next calling. The point is, of course, someone needs to do it....why not you? You're actually accomplishing several tasks. Yes, you're identifying obscure photos so your family will know who is who years after you're no longer around, but perhaps you're also weeding out the duds, the misses and the unidentifiable! That chore could reduce the boxes of long-forgotten "stuff" in your attic or junk room. Haven't you said, several times, you've wanted to do just that? I had a mentor once who was fond of saying "inch by inch, it's a cinch, but yard by yard, it's hard." He was referring to writing your memoirs, but it can be applied to any task. The point is to simply start...somewhere. My suggestion, and the way I've done it, is to start with one box. Pour through and decide what needs to be done with ALL those pictures. Remember when we all had doubles printed? Do you really need two copies of Aunt Bea's prize rose or even one if she's gone and you don't like roses? Or maybe you need just one for your garden idea book? It doesn't belong in a box in the attic either way. How many pictures of your cousin's wedding from 1983 do you really need to remember the event? And who is that standing next to your mother? Will your children know or care in 10 years, or 20? Maybe you'll find a picture of the only trip you ever took to New York, or Europe, or maybe a local historical site. Why did you go? and what happened there? Maybe you can write a short description or explanation to file away with the picture. Or maybe there are a dozen pictures that really do need to go into a scrapbook or that empty photo album you found with the pictures. Maybe you’re into scanning your pictures to preserve them beyond their printed form. Consider it an assignment, with a deadline, the next time it snows. One box or two with each snowstorm could really get a bigger project a long way to completion and a sense of satisfaction for your to-do list and for preserving memories for your family.

All the time there is

Today, I took a look back at some of the blogs/columns (31 on Blogger in nine years) I’ve written over the past few years. I had a lot to say. Sometimes repetitive... Sometimes insightful…sometimes seemingly random and disjointed, but I wrote. And I believe everyone should. Even if it’s only a letter to yourself or your family….everyone should write something down about themselves, their life or their family’s life. That’s history! I know the academics of the world will research the day away in old books, records, photographs or albums. They will carefully match world or U.S. history to local events, and their own experience, recollections or the stories of their ancestors. Great! But not everyone has that kind of self-discipline, and you don’t have to. Did you write a diary page or a letter to yourself about the trip you took to the coast last summer? Or the ride through the woods last weekend? That’s all it takes. One page at a time, one memory at a time and you’ve helped your memory of life and for your children or grandchildren. Believe it or not they will want to know how you spent your days before….whatever the latest technology may be offering. I remember my mother wheeling the wringer washer into the floor, filling the tub and winding a load of clothes through to take it outside to be hung on the line to dry….all four seasons! Now, I push a button to wash, move the load and push a button to dry. My dishes are done! I pushed another button. Now I have time to write again or maybe vacuum…or not. We all say “there isn’t enough time….” for anything, but that’s not true. A school administrator once told me one of the most valuable lessons he learned was from a custodian at the school. When he lamented, “there’s not enough time…” the custodian had the answer, “you’ve got all there is son.” We all have 24 hours in a day, seven days a week, etc. It’s how and where you use the time that makes all the difference. It’s okay to waste time after you push that button. It’s okay to enjoy the sunshine or snow whatever the season may be, but there is no more time. But time also passes…sometimes too quickly. Grab your computer, your tablet or even your phone or a piece of paper and start a page. Tell your grandchildren how you spent your day or your first day on the job. Tell them about the chicken you burned or the great steak you marinated. Tell them your memories of your grandparents, or paddling on the river or when you first met them. Just one page….and yes, even if you never do it again, but while you’re thinking of it. I know my message is repetitive and I sometimes have to remind myself to do what I say. But I truly believe everyone wants to know about their family, or their hometown, or childhood home or perhaps it’s a special family home in a distance place or memory. I have many fond memories of long-gone relatives that I wish everyone, my family, could know. How will they know if I don’t “write it down”?