Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the nuts and bolts of genealogy research – the names, dates, and records that you painstakingly search and record in order to preserve your family’s history for future generations. There are many other aspects of genealogy, and today I would like to take a closer look at one that is becoming a lost art – family storytelling. The phrase “family storytelling” may bring back memories of those times that your Grandpa got that twinkle in his eye and began to tell his most recent hunting story or the time when your eyes glazed over as your uncle recited the details of his trip overseas for what seemed like the fiftieth time.
Oral history was once the primary way that information was passed from generation to generation. In today’s world where some families go days without exchanging more than a hurried greeting or a text message across the dinner table, it is not surprising that family storytelling is becoming less common than it once was. Family stories do not have to be made up of grand or dramatic events. If you write down or record even something simple like a summary of your day with your toddler, it will mean a lot to your child when you read it or have him or her watch it with you years down the road.
Other good ideas for family stories include moving from one house to another, how a couple met, family traditions, or funny things that kids say or do. You can record your stories on a digital voice recorder or cd, you can videotape yourself, or you can write your stories down. Preserving these “slices of life” for future generations can be a very deeply meaningful experience.
What family stories do you want to tell? I should really be keeping a journal of the funny things that my son says and does because at eighteen months, he makes up his own words for things and it is so cute! Just this week, I discovered that “bubba” is his word for window, and a few weeks ago when the leaves came out on the trees I learned that “baby” can be an actual baby, a child, or a leaf. They may seem like small things, but they are all a part of your family’s history.
Photo by taliesin on morguefile.com.