Remembering Your Stories

I often think that the stories behind our favorite memories are as important as the photos we take to commemorate them.  Yet, often we make time to organize  photos and don’t  really take any time to write down and organize the stories.  Keeping a journal or other organized diary can seem daunting to some…I would be one of those people.  However, jotting notes about my photos and keeping track of comments and stories has become an important part of my memory keeping.  It doesn’t have to be creative, or terribly organized – but here are a few thoughts about finding a way to keep track of the little everyday stories that make up your memories.

Before I had my first child, someone suggested I keep a journal by my bed for all the little moments that are a part of life.  It was one of the best pieces of advice I could have gotten as a young mom.  I don’t write in it every day – I even miss some whole months!  But looking back at it, I treasure the time I took to write about their milestones and the things they said.  It is not something I would like an English teacher to look at.  Some of my notes aren’t even complete sentences.  The point is I have it and can reflect on these days and moments when my kids have grown up.  This is a great thing not just for kids, but for vacation trips, specific times spent with a loved one…really anything that will help you remember the things that are special to you.  Most often by the time I get around to scrapbooking my photos, my memory of the event is not sharp.  These notes help me remember the funny things said and done that I really want to remember and journal about in my albums.

I decorated the front of composition book for the notes I keep on my boys.  You wouldn’t need to do anything this elaborate.  Keep a notebook by your phone, in your camera case, or even in your purse.  Keep a stack of post it notes by your bed or in the room you spend the most time in - anywhere that will be accessible for you.  You will be surprised by how much you enjoy looking back on the stories that had been forgotten.