New Year Resolutions, come and go and so does time. Peoples' lives are riddled with beginnings. Familylore tells the stories of those beginnings. The first time you met your husband, the first time your parents met. How are these stories told if not between family and friends.
The why of it is not important. Its the telling that connects us to each other and the way we reach out. Remember that first day in a new job? What was going on, who were the people in the office, what were your responsibilities? Who spoke to you first and what did they ask? Unspoken these moments are but fillers in space and time. But shared, told and reflected upon they become the beginnings of stories that enrich our lives and become part of our Familylore.
Be the teller,
Received my Holiday Season gifts from my eldest sister yesterday. It arrived, a brown cardboard box, quite plain in appearance but inside years of memories converged. This treasure trove of gifts were the articulation of memories that spanned over three decades.
Amongst the treasures, a weaver had recreated my snowy owl perched on a twig. It had attracted my sister's eye at the Ottawa Weavers and Knitters show. It told me she remembered I had regular visits from an owl very much like it at my hobby farm in Pense Sasktachewan in 1975. I still feel the cold of the prairie, I still hear the deafening quiet, still see the glaring white snow and the sight of this great white owl sitting majestically on the same pole everyday just outside my farm house.
Art galleries have been my favorite sources for inspiration. But it is the gift shop that provides the item or image you can take home. My sister includes every year a wall calendar. It always depicts some master painter, it could be impressionists, or modern, it might even be medieval tapestries. Whatever the theme it conveys my true passions as wide as they are. And only a sister would know. This year it was Gustave Klimpt. Along the same idea were cards, portraits by Klimpt and another set of cards portraying the same medieval tapestry from my calendar of 2007. Hidden deep in the box were humbugs by Robertson, and chocolates from Stubbe's. All my favorites, all precious, all defining a memory and bringing it to light to be shared again.
I wish you and yours the opportunity of sharing your stories over the next few weeks. Make giftgiving one that creates stories in your Familylore.
Be the teller,
Gift giving at this time of year is always a challenge. What do we give those who have what they need or want. How can you make yours and their Festive Season even more unique? Is it possible to give a gift so special that it can enhance the holidays for your family? My answer is YES!
Consider giving Familore.
It is the quintessential treasure of your family's story. When they began, where you have been and where you all are today. The Holiday Season is fast approaching and without speaking a word members of your family are remembering. It may be the weather, the sights, the sounds, the buzz in the Mall, what ever it is we all have thoughts of earlier Christmases or Festive Seasons.
Your aunt could be remembring her first Christmas as a parent. Little brother is reminded of the first pair of skates he was given. Grandmother still remembers the smell the cookies and pies spread throughout the house. Dad worried over finding the right tree and Mom was making sure the presents were under the tree before the children got up.
Encourage the recounting of your family's stories. They all have their images, their memories and these pulled together and shared become your Familore.
Begin this year. Start with a few stories, a few remembrances and soon you will discover the treasure that is Familore. Call a member of your family and begin to collect their stories. You can record these in many ways. Audio, video, even typed up in Word with a seasonal image watermark will help you capture the story. You can later add these to a CD and distribute copies to family members. Every year you can add to it. Old photos, maps, charts, children's drawings and cards can now be collected as never before.
Be the teller,
Stories abound following an extended break from blogging. Never far from my thoughts, familore and how these stories come about have multiplied as they will do.
My nephew got married yesterday at Columbia University in N.Y. A few days earlier his mother, my sister was leaving to participate at this special event. I reminded her that it was because of her son we had shared a concert. It was "Foreigner" at the National Art Center. The audience, middle age+, a wave of white and gray haired. At the finale everyone on their feet singing along with the band. Rocking to the music, we laughed at the passage of time, the ability of lyrics to bring back memories and at ourselves for having the power to enjoy it.
My publishing schedule for this fall will be every Sunday.
Now sit back, relax and remember Foreigner
Listen to your grandmother talk about when she came to this country and you will hear stories that are unique. Entertain your mother with questions about how she met and fell in love and you will hear tellings of love, passion and youthfulness. Take the time to spend an evening with your sister. Share with her an initimate moment in your life and soon you will be taking your place in the sea that is womanlore.
The stories that keep families together remain the most powerful and the least known of all the stories. As women we are expected even requested to keep these stories that are uniquely our families' alive for the next generation and the next after that and so on. Why are these life affirming experiences important?
Every family has a voice of its own, the way in which it interprets the world around it. The very ebb and flow of a family and its stories require a recorder, a person to keep these stories vibrant and remembered. The women in your family know this, just ask.
International Women's Day March 8th reminds us of the tradition and the power given to women in keeping our histories, our stories and sharing these with our families. Consider your family stories and celebrate
