The video below on youtube made me think. Degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, robs people of their memories. One of the very sad things about such diseases is that by the time it is correctly diagnosed, it can be quite advanced.
The video asks some people who have recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s what their most important memories are, and which ones are the most important to them to remember. The most powerful memories seem to stick, but there are countless smaller ones which are equally valid.
What struck me is how many memories are lost to illness and accident and how we could do more to prevent this. In this age of easy-to-access-and-use technology, we shouldn’t be letting memories go missing.
Here’s some memory storing exercises:
Have a family dinner (or with friends) and have a long game of ‘remember when’ and take turns to record the answers. Either record them in video or audio form, or by writing them down. Keep all kinds of stories, not just the flattering ones – make sure you have some hilarious and sad and nerve wracking ones as well – they’re all valid.
Make a family memory album. Think of one event in your family and get every person who as involved to jot down their recollections – it will be a fascinating exercise to see who remembers what. There is likely to be some vastly different viewpoints.
Visit long lost relatives and get their stories about extended branches of the family – uncover the skeletons in your family closet (every family has them), and find out how they came to be. Ask about the love stories, the war stories, what they have discovered about life.
Family histories are so much richer than a collection of dates and last names. There are powerful lessons and wonderful adventures which should never be lost. Often genealogy research is left to one member of the family, but uncovering interesting stories can be everyone’s responsibility, no matter how young or old they are.
Young children can take turns to ‘interview’ their relatives about life ‘in the olden days,’ (which for them may be pre-2000!). Remember to video, photograph and transcribe the conversations – you may think you’ll always remember – but it is so fun to share the footage with others. Your family could start their own YouTube Channel to store all the footage so it can be accessed by family members all over the world.
