I Implore You, Document & Gather Memories

This week in my own personal life has been one of tremendous loss and also there is reason for great celebration.

I have lost 2 wonderful people recently, one person is work-related, the other a dear dear Great Aunt. My family also celebrates the 100th birthday of my only living grandparent and a sister-in-law's birthday as well. Also, the health of a loved one who I cherish so very dearly is very critical at this point.

I have said this before, but I don't think anyone hears it or is understanding the gravity and fragility of their existence .... life is so precious, it is over so quickly, we have no idea when it is our time. I have had so many close calls the last few years and I know although I could have been called home, I am here for a reason... My number one purpose in this life is to preserve memories, capture stories, help others remember, and carry on legacies. It is to preserve our past and celebrate our present and futures.

I have 2 requests though for all of you, to help you and me in my job.

1) Gather your videos, photos, audio cassettes, slides, and documents. Digitize your memories so that you can share them and enjoy them together. Pull out your boxes and preserve them, then let a professional package them so they don't get destroyed down the road. Now you can take the role of digitizing them yourself which I will say is very very time consuming and can be expensive for all of the equipment, or you can take the role of simply gathering all of your stuff together and saving time by letting someone digitize them. This is not a professional plug for me, but it is something I do and take extreme caution and responsibility in performing, as I said it is my purpose here in my life. I cannot count the number of times I have been given boxes and there is water damage to the box, bugs in the photo boxes, moisture in the VHS tapes and cassette tapes, and even mice that have eaten the box and documents inside. The time is now to preserve them, not the future. These items don't last forever. Also, one helpful thing to know is your old photo albums are one of the worst things you can keep your memories in, something I learned a while ago... old photo albums have acid in the lining which slowly eats away your photos and helps yellow them as well. Gather them and digitize... but then organize your files. We are so easily able to organize our homes, but never our memories. If need be let the professional organize your digital memories. It has taken years to hone, but I can find a photo, video, or any other memory at a moment's notice, and within a minute even on my phone pull it up. Each year I set aside money in my budget for digital storage. I have one for my photos and one for video and I have outlined it in my will with any leftover life insurance how to keep that storage going since it benefits my family and extended family. The greatest benefit of all of the gathering and organizing are for moments I mentioned above. If you have all of those memories ready, you can have them for celebrations of life or for when memorial slideshows need to be made or even life stories, the possibility of ways to share are endless. One way to share that I do in my family is a YouTube Channel with our family videos.. it allows everyone to watch their memories even when separated by distance. It can be incredibly stressful for a family with the death of a loved one to have to take a moment and gather all of their files. Spending that time now will benefit you more than you even know. If you are looking for an example on how to organize your files, on my end, my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, and even extended relatives have every photo, document, drawing or audio file and video file they have that I have either taken or received from them set aside in folders of their own. I also organize by year... below are examples of what I have done.

2) My second task for you all is to document your lives.. we have such an easy ability to do so now. Our phones are basically a built-in camera, video camera, scanner, and tape recorder. There is a tremendous balance we must find between being in the moment and documenting our memories, but down the road, you won't regret capturing most moments. The most precious times I have been able to capture for me are not the huge events, but the small ones. The endless conversations my dad had with his brother steven, the times my great aunt sang with her daughter, capturing my nephew's first smile, those small beautiful moments that make up our lives. One of the worst things when a person passes is the thoughts that you never took a certain photo, or documented an event... we legitimately have no excuse anymore.

Don't waste a moment, don't take life for granted, celebrate your loved ones, and capture the memories. Below a quote from the first book I ever read in one sitting as a child... it hits a little harder now.

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” - Lois Lowry, The Giver

If you are looking to digitize your memories... please don't hesitate to contact me.