I was reading a writing prompt on http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978604784 by Greg Schiller about family stories. The writing prompt itself seems important to me.
"Write anything you want, humorous or not, fanciful or factual on the theme of family stories."
- Tell the stories that your family retells every time they get together.
- Tell the stories that were never told.
- Tell the stories that need to be told.
- Tell the stories that will be lost if you do not tell them."
These prompts bring up so many memories. Some of them are to strong for me to even articulate them. Some are to recent for me to share them. Though in my heart I know that I need to share them, at least with myself. I tried to keep a journal when I took care of mother. I kept a surface one. Every time I tried to write about the emotions and what was going on in my mind I couldn't put pen to paper.
Part of it was facing the facts that I was losing one of the most important people in my life - my mother. The disease was stole her independence, her ability to communicate it also stole her memories. It also stole my security - here was this woman who had been so strong and independent, and now wasn't. A part of me wondered if I was looking at my own future.
What didn't change was her love for me. The fact she may not have known who exactly I was wasn't important. She always knew she was loved by me.
She once told me that we don't always get a choice between good and bad choices. Sometimes it's between bad choices and worse choices. Families often face difficult choices when trying to find care for their loved ones. Part of making them comfortable sometimes means re-connecting our loved ones with their past - helping them revisit their life stories.
I have decided to accept the challenge and write some of my family stories. I hope you accept the challenge too. If you do I would enjoy hearing about it.
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3 comments:
Thanks for delving into this prompt - I want to savor it a bit - like a Thanksgiving meal - and will see what family stories surface this holiday.
What a wonderful commitment Ruth. I am with you when I moved to digital storytelling for stories.
Bonnie
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think that is part of the power of blogging. You write for an audience and they respond and share their thoughts. Truly developing a community.
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