Record Your Stories

This morning, my grandmother, or “Mamaw” passed away.  It hasn’t really hit me yet, but I know this week is going to be a rough, rough week. She was a wonderful, loving woman, and I’m going to miss her so very much.

Tonight, while sitting with my family, sorting through pictures to use for the poster boards and the funeral video, it really hit me how important the pictures and the memories are– not just to each of us, personally, but for our families as well.

Doing this really inspires me to: 

• Do a better job of asking family members questions about thier pasts (and presents!)— once they are gone, their stories are gone, and that makes me really sad. 
• Do a better job of taking more meaningful pictures.
• Label pictures– in the metadata, on the back of printed pictures… everywhere. It’s so heartbreaking to find a picture and not know who is in it, where it was taken, or even the year.
• Print more pictures. Tonight, we weren’t sifting through digital pictures or photobooks– we were going through albums and printed photographs.

So, this week, I encourage you to hug your parents and grandparents extra tight, tell them you love them one extra time, and think about how your pictures and stories will last beyond your life.  Record the stories of your life and those around you.