Why Should I Care?

            No, really?  You pushed the button?  You were curious.  You were wondering, what do they mean, “Why should I care?”  Well, here you are and now you’ll know why you should care.

            Each of us is important (now I’m not even going to have that argument with you, just follow the train of thought, please) and as such there are people who care about us somewhere and there are people whom we care about.

            How I wish my great-grandma Maw would have written many things down, so I could know about her.  Find out how far back the sweet tooth goes.  How I wish I knew more about my great-grandparents, grandparents and even my own father who lived in Guatemalaand what their lives were like. In family history, I’m finding those important names and dates.  With those I am finding out trends: families moving about, epidemics, live events.

            What a blessing to others if we have that information to give to others in our family.  If you’re not married, or don’t have children, surely there is someone, nieces, nephews, or even close friends, who want to know about your life, what you looked like, what you’ve done and what you thought.

            Even Uncle Slim, who wasn’t anyone’s uncle, an only child who never married, bonded with our family and will forever be Uncle Slim. What about him?  How did he meet Grandma and Grandpa?  Why do we call him Uncle Slim? 

            Dad, a wise man, once said, “you were so eager to be 16, then 18, then 21. All of the sudden you were 25, then you go you bed at 30 then wake up being 35.”  Where did all that time go?  What did you do? Did you go to trade school?  Did you tour the world? Did you get married young?

            Are you in the middle of raising kids and cannot believe the stories that are happening? Like when your 21 month old threw up on your dinner company. Not so amusing then, but as you sit down and laugh at that, it’s worth preserving. Not necessarily in pictures, but in words.

            When your first grader brings home the best still life picture of pottery you have ever seen done by a 6 year old, and you keep asking him, “Did you draw that?” and he keeps saying, “Yes, Mom, I did”. Now your first grader is 15. Would it be great to still have that drawing to treasure? Absolutely.

            “Why would anyone care about what I did?” Well, they will.  And the problem is, once you are gone, the stories, the experience, the advice are gone too. I’m glad my father told the story of when he was three and was bitten by the rattlesnake.  He shouldn’t have lived, but he did.

I’m grateful for the hysterial dialog between my dad and my sister over JFK.  No one wrote it down, we keep trying to relive the high points, but it was a special moment they shared. I’d love to share it with my kids.

One of the best Christmas presents I got this year was my granddad’s journal. Gram had it typed up and copied for the children and grandchildren. He’s on the front cover in his navy dress uniform looking very dapper, very handsome, with that twinkle in his eye. I’m so glad he wrote.  It’s been great to learn about the things he thought, learn about times I was never able to ask him about, as he’s been gone a few years now.

Someone will be glad to get that from you, so don’t argue that fact with me. Start small and work your way out.  If you hate pictures, but have a pen and a notebook, you’re on your way.

If you have pictures, that’s great! Technology is coming up with fantastic ways to keep and preserve those great life portraits. If you need to organize pictures, figure out the digital possibilities, we’re here to help. It seems an overwhelming task, but it’s possible: one step, one event at a time.

So let’s get scrappin’.