A Great Idea - Plus More From Mom

Every once in a while my brain will stumble upon a good idea.  Strike that.  I actually come up with ideas (some good, some not so hot) all the time.  My acting upon my ideas is what happens every once in a while.  Luckily for me, I not only came up with a great idea that I'd like to share with you for you to consider doing yourself, I'm in the process of making the idea morph into reality.

My Mom's Family

The great idea?  Capture my family's history for my daughter and my nieces and nephews (not to mention for myself.)

Earlier this year I created a document filled with questions that asked about childhoods, memories of parents/grandparents, past pets, and stories about siblings.  I then sent this questionaire to all my family members and asked them to answer the questions and send the questionaire back.  They did (I'm sharing some of my mother's answers below.  Don't drink anything hot while you read her comments.  Don't want to be responsible for cooking your nose.)

My mom with her brother Jim and sister Alice

With the information I'm collecting from my family, plus old pictures I've scanned, I'm making a book for my family about my family, and I plan to give these books out on Christmas day.  The stories in this book, I think, will be cherished by all who read them, bringing us even closer.  Plus, my daughter and nieces/nephews will have a chance to learn more about their family history - about family members who are no longer with us.  If my mother's information is any indication, the book will also be a hoot.  Here's a sample of her comments...

What kinds of pets did you have growing up?  A Pekingese puppy was the only pet that was all mine.  His name was Chris, because I got him for Christmas.  OK, not very original, I know.  They wouldn’t let me call him Baby Jesus.

What’s the most memorable story you have about a sibling?  My brother Jim shooting at me one morning with my BB gun while I was waiting for the school bus.  I looked like a Ninja, fending off the BBs with my lunch box.  Also, one time he put a toenail clipping in my BLT sandwich.  Years later he joined the Army and went to Germany.  I didn’t know when he was supposed to come home, but one day when I was a sophomore in HS, he drove up in a baby blue Ford convertible to pick me up after school.  He was wearing his uniform and was just excruciatingly handsome.  I was so proud and very happy.  

My "Granny" as a young girl at her family's farm

It doesn't take long to come up with a list of questions and to send them to family members, but the information gathered and placed in a book will last a lifetime for generations to come.  I hope you'll think about doing this "great" idea with your family too.