Why bother?
I hope that if you only do one activity, that it will be this one. Preserving your memories. These are strange times that we live in, so it is the best time to record it. For your sake, for the sake of your kids, for the sake of history.
You know memories are a funny thing. Now that I have lost my sister I wish we had recorded more of the things we said or did. We were always in the ‘now’ when we were with each other, which was wonderful. However, in this now, I am alone and all those memories are only in my head and they seem to lose their magic when I try to put them into words.
What to do
Record the memories you are making now with your family and loved ones. You will be glad that you did.
As with anything there are good ideas and there are bad ideas.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Allow me to save you some time and start with the bad idea….DO NOT GOOGLE scrap-booking!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make a mental note, or write it down, but whatever you do, remember the warning. There are just certain bells that cannot be un-rung and this is one of them.
In preparation for this post, I made that fatal error and boy oh boy do I regret it.
Why Not?
Firstly, everyone loves to give you steps to follow. Well by step 6 I felt I needed a nap and by then they had only discussed preparations. I did not make it all the way to step 39, but I suspect it would only have been by step 29 where you would have started recording memories… like your memory of how frustrating steps 1-28 were.
If you want to waste 3 hours of your life, then go ahead and follow their instructions.
Do NOt GET FANCY
If not, follow mine. Find a scrappy book lying around. Does not matter what it is. If it’s an old diary, an old schoolbook, or whatever- start scribbling in it. Even if you literally start by doodling. Do it when you have a free moment or when something cool happens. You can paste pictures, draw, write down reflections, rant, try a recipe with feedback, have the kids draw in it, try journaling on and off. Do whatever you feel like. This is your chance to create a visual diary that reflects the impromptu, inventive, crazy, day-drinking time we find ourselves in. Paste your favourite wine label in there.
Just have fun with it
Draw outlines of your children’s hands, your hands, your pet’s paws.
I look forward to seeing what you post in there. Please share. I do hope that some of the thoughts and ideas that come up during our discussions on the strengths of transcendence will also feature in your book.
Explore the meaning of you.
TTFN