Sharing Your Memories

Sharing Your Memories

Have you ever wanted to share your memories for your grandchildren and future generations?  There are so many ways to accomplish that and yet, sometimes it is hard to know where to begin.  You could record yourself talking about your memories, write them out by hand into some type of book or type them into various memory book programs.  In this post I will review three of the different methods I have used to share memories with my grandkids.

Memory Book

When my oldest two granddaughters were 13-14 years old, they went through Confirmation at their church. As a gift for each of them I presented them with a book of memories from my life.  The book I used was called, Grandmothers Memories to her Grandchild (a journal of faith and love).

 Grandmother's Memories: To Her Grandchild (A Journal of Faith and Love)Check Price

This book has pages for you to write small paragraphs about yourself and other family members.  The paragraphs are interspersed with beautiful photographs of Thomas Kinkaid paintings and faith-based prose.

The book has a place to add the members of your family tree and a page about your birthday, full name and place of birth.  In addition to these pages there are many other topics for you to write your memories.  Here are a few of the topics:

• What happened in the world when you were born?
• My favorite verse about love.
• The best thing about being your grandmother.
• Memories of my Mother.
• Memories of my Father.
• Favorite photos of you and me.
• Favorite Bible verse.

There are many other subjects that help to give you ideas of what to write.  I found this book easy to write and I like the way it turned out.  I wrote in the book over a 6-month time frame to give me time to think about each subject and then put down my thoughts.

Story Worth Book

On Mother's Day, my son and daughter-in-law gave me a subscription to the "Story Worth" memory book.  Each week I was emailed a question from the company and then I would write my answer to the question and add any photos that I had that would go with that subject.  At the end of 52 weeks the questions and answers, along with the photos were put into a book.   Here is the cover from my book.

Here are a few of the topics from my book.  They are all listed in the index of the book.

• How did you feel when your first child was born?
• Which fads did you embrace while growing up?
• Describe one of you most memorable birthdays.
• What is one of your favorite memories of your mother?
• Did you have a car in high school?
• Who are the best cooks in your family?
• What did you read as a child?
• Who inspires you?
• What simple pleasures of life do you truly enjoy?
• If you could choose any talent to have, what would it be?
• Tell me about your siblings.

This is just a sampling of the questions to give you an idea of the types of questions in the book.  If you are sent a question that just doesn't work for you, you can ask for a replacement question.  I did this a couple of time during the year but after some thought I found I could find something to write for every question.

Shutterfly Book

After making memory books of my life, my husband and I decided we would also like some books made of his memories.  I have always made a photo book each year using the format in Shutterfly.  In looking at their options I found that I could also use pages of text in Shutterfly in addition or instead of photos.  We decided this would be a good option for making a book of my husband's memories.

We started with some basic questions that he answered, and that I put in the book along with corresponding photographs.  We then looked at all the questions that I answered in my books, and we used those questions as a starting point for his book.  Each week I give him one or two questions.  I then add the answers to the book.   I also go through old photo albums and copy any photos that will work with the questions.  We are still in the process of creating this book, but I really like the way it is turning out.

Whatever method you decide to use, I encourage you to get started.  I think it is good to do it over several months to a year.  At the end of the project, you will have a wonderful sense of accomplishment and your family will have a wonderful gift from you.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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