As I glanced back through my journal, I see that on August 22 of this year, I was deep in remembering mom mode. It was 2 days before what would have been her 80th birthday and exactly 5 months from her 10th birthday in heaven. I‘d been reading through 2 of the books that I made for her. In one, a poem I wrote and dedicated to her was used as the text for the story. I’d used a scrapbooking program for the graphics as well as family pictures. Putting them together, I created the "illustrations" and left open spaces for her to write in her new ”made by me just for you” journal.
The poem was a tribute to her faith, strength and perserverance. Mom had been “sick“ off and on with being “sick-sick” most of our lives. Pain, diabetes, heart troubles and and breathing issues were her constant companions. I had hoped that the journal would encourage her to write about her journey through it all. That she would leave her thoughts for us to reflect on. Something that brought her joy, for us to smile about. Or even some hard lessons she thought we should learn. But she thought it too pretty and too much of a “book” to write in.
I so wish she had....
Not to worry. I used it to write some of my memories of her and the lessons we learned at her feet and through her life.
We can learn amazing things from books. And words can take us on trips to great places, real and imagined. But look around you. Sometimes the story is not in the book. Without life there would be no books. Life stories are what books are made of.
So enjoy the stories while the teller is still here to tell. As you hear them, ask your questions and write the book to keep the memories alive for generations. And if you miss that opportunity - look at those around you. Look inside of you. See the story still living there and write it anyway.
Rev. Sunae
E.G.G.S -Every Grandparent’s Got a Story
BLESSING BOOKS ...Blessing the generations to come.