Welcome to Homemaking Tips Tuesdays where contributing writers share helpful homemaking tips so you can feel more successful caring for your home and family.

{This week, post by: Jessica}

How will you share your story with your children years from now? Are there moments you wish to preserve so they will not be lost to memory? Take these tips to preserve your story.

I recently finished reading a book in which a woman spends the last few months of her dying mother’s life digging into her past in order to find out more about who she really was.  In the book she was able to uncover a secret that had been kept for years, and her mother was able to dye in peace with her family knowing the truth about her.

The book got me to thinking, what do I know about my parents? Of course I know them as the adults they are today, and from the memories made while growing up.  But who were they before they became my Mom and Dad?

When I think of my two young daughters, I hope they will remember the family traditions we are creating, the lessons we are trying to teach them, and the experiences we are providing for them.  How neat would it be if I went a little further and left a documented account of our lives?  What if I could leave them my own personal manuscript? Have you thought about sharing your story with your kids?

Here are three ways you can begin recording your story so that they will live on long after the memories fade.

Preserving Your Story

Keep a video journal.

This is by far the easiest and quickest way to begin writing your story.  Simply get out your phone, turn the camera towards yourself and begin to talk.

Your videos do not have to be long, or about a certain topic or event.  Whenever you feel inspired, record your thoughts.

Here are tips for getting started with a video journal.

Check back next month for tips on keeping your videos and photographs organized.

Keep a written journal.

Pen and paper journals can be a more intimate, personal and more relatable experience than writing on your phone or computer.  The results may also help enhance creative expression.

Again, do not feel pressured to write within certain parameters.  Put the pen to paper and go wherever your mind takes you.

Don’t forget to date the top of each entry!

Here is an idea for journaling in a few minutes each day.

Write your story.

About five years ago I suddenly felt drawn to creating the story of “us.”  I wanted to keep track of our family’s life story.

It really stemmed from wanting to share our lives in the military with our (then-future) children so that they could remember the journey we were on and the journey they were a part of even if they were too young to remember many of the details themselves.

Photobooks are a great way to document your story with pictures and text.

Fast forward five and a half years-and two children later-and much of the story has yet to be written.  Not because I didn’t want to continue writing, I just didn’t have the time to go into such detail anymore.

With our youngest daughter in preschool part time, I have had time to go back and read what I began writing years ago.  It has been fun to read about our lives in such detail. I have often been brought to tears while reading certain events.

While I still don’t have the time to write as detailed as I did years ago, I plan to be more diligent going forward. Someday I will fill in the gaps so that my children can read as much of the full story as possible.

They will always have their memories and perspective of who I am, and hopefully they will be able to get a glimpse of our lives through my eyes as well.

How do you record your story for your children?

How will you share your story with your children years from now? Are there moments you wish to preserve so they will not be lost to memory? Take these tips to preserve your story.


Jessica Stremer of Five O'Clock JellyJessica is a stay at home mom of two lovely little girls.  She is also a military spouse and an entrepreneur.  Jessica enjoys staying active and spending time outdoors with her family, cooking, and reading.  In addition, Jessica is hard at work growing her company Five O’Clock Jelly.


 

 

 

Work at home as an independent distributor with Young Living essential oils.