What is it about the day after Christmas? Are you glad
the hustle and bustle is over? Have you cleaned up the discarded wrapping paper
and bows? Has everyone taken their goodies to their rooms or are they still
sitting under the tree? Did you eat all the leftovers from your Christmas
feast? Have you started to return or exchange gifts that weren’t exactly right?
Are you catching up an all those cards and letters, updating your mailing list
for next Christmas?
Have you already
started to take down the tree and decorations? Are all the parties over? Did
you put a few extra pounds? All of these and I am sure more things crowd your
mind, fill your days, and make you wonder if it was all worth it?
Of course it was!
So as you wait to change the calendar, you make plans
for the New Year. Do you make resolutions or do you wait to see what happens?
Are you resolved and determined to make changes? Stay steadfast and persevere,
make promises and pledges, find solutions and answers? Yes, you will do all the
above. And the one goal I wish to inspire you to attain if you haven’t already
done so with the encouragement from this blog, is to Create your Family Museum!
Or at least begin to think about doing it and then do it!
I have written 141 blogposts that instruct, inform,
edify and entertain. Loaded with how-to ways & means, inspiration, personal
thoughts and links to websites that offer even more information. There is no
excuse as to why one would not want to have a Family Museum in their home,
apartment, workplace, anywhere you call home. All obstacles and challenges can
be met. But it is up to you, however, not you alone. The history you preserve
and display is your family’s history, their stories, their lives. Make it as
grand as you can. Share it with all family members, friends, and on your social
networks. Spread the word. Share the love of family.
Here are a few poignant quotes that express the
importance of creating a Family Museum:
“There’s
a world of wisdom in our personal stories. Your life is a legacy, a gift that
only you can give. Why waste something so precious?” & “Too many Americans have ignored their ancestors
and family history and not bothered to examine their own life stories, much
less share them with others. They, too, rarely share much of their past lives
with friends, or pass them on to their progeny. And yet we desperately need to
do all that . . .” Dolly Berthelot
“Do
not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as
long as you live. Teach them to your children and your children’s children.” Deuteronomy
“If
you don’t recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories
and tell them, too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what
binds families and makes each of us who we are.” Madeleine
L’Engle
May your New Year be prosperous, your health
strong and stable, your families happy & together. I will continue to post
throughout the New Year. Hope you read it and chime in. It is nice to hear from
you and to share this journey of preserving and displaying family histories in
your own Family Museum.
