I look forward to reading my NAIWE newsletter. Today’s newsletter included a tiny mention that November is Family Stories Month. I felt inspired immediately to write down my family stories and encourage my friends, relatives, colleagues, and readers to write down their stories, too.
Why? Because we are rapidly losing our connections with our ancestors, as my oldest sister calls it. I know what she means. I grew up in a large, noisy, extended family. My mother’s relatives all lived within a short drive of our home. My grandmother lived with us, and one of her seven siblings visited almost every Sunday – sometimes several at once – bringing Carvel ice cream or a coffee cake from the bakery and an afternoon brimming with laughter and stories.
I heard how my grandparents met at a baseball game, circa 1914 or 1915, and how my grandfather was fascinated by the new-fangled automobile and brought a Model T Ford engine into the house to study it. It dripped oil all over the living room carpet. I heard about the house on Elizabeth Street in Floral Park and how my mother hid lumps of sugar in her pocket to give to the horse who pulled the ice and coal man’s wagon. I discovered that the sleds my sisters and I loved to pull out on a snow day were over 50 years old and beloved by my aunt. I heard how my father and Uncle John used to skitch rides on the back of trolley cars in the Bronx on snow days. It turns out my dad was somewhat of a troublemaker back then…
Oh, so many stories! I think of my precious goddaughter, my great-niece Olivia, and I wonder how many of the stories my sister told my niece, Olivia’s mom, and whether or not we remember the same stories. I have found out, for example, that my other sister remembers things differently than I do, and because both of my sisters are older than I am, they remember events in our lives better than I do. For example, my dad loved growing chrysanthemums for flower shows, and I thought he had won a Best in Show for his flower in 1975. My sister, however, corrected me and said it was Best in Class. A difference. A blue ribbon and a trophy, but an important distinction.
This November, I encourage you to participate in Family Stories Month. Take the 30-day challenge and use whatever writing tools you prefer: pen and notebook, laptop, desktop, pencil and paper. If you’re stuck and need prompts, try the following resources:
Write and Share Family Stories
But, most importantly – write. Write those stories down. There is no better way to preserve the past!