Hi

The very day after I blogged about scanning important documents and photographs, my sister called to tell me that our grandmother was in hospital and not expected to live long. My grandmother died later that evening.  This was very sudden and unexpected, and a very timely reminder to record all those precious memories whilst you can.

One of my most treasured possessions is a book that my grandmother filled out for me, way back in 1992. It is called “Grandmother’s Book”. A quick search on google shows that you can buy similar books today.

It is a beautifully presented book that a grandmother fills in for her grandchild. For example, on the ‘My School Days” page, the book has the words.. ‘The subject I liked most was…. because…’ and the grandmother would fill in the blanks. I learnt that my grandmother’s interests included boys, and she was proudest when she left school.

The book gives a great insight into the life of my grandmother, told by her, not by the often tainted memories of others. For example, (she was born in 1920), a world event that she remembered, and in her words… “The second world war, I was at a dance when war was declared, but we all still went on dancing. Also your Grandfather was celebrating his 21st birthday”. When I read this, I thought, that is where I get my love of dancing from.

My advice - go out and buy one of these books. Fill it out for your grandchildren, or have a grandparent fill it out for you. Keep it close by where you and other family members can look at it from time to time.

My second advice - do it as soon as you can. When I sent my grandmother a copy of this book to fill out for me, I also gave a copy to my mother for my eldest daughter, and another to my youngest daughter’s other grandmother. My grandmother and my mother have both filled out these great books, my youngest daughter’s grandmother never did. She has now passed away, and with her the great memories and stories that she could have left us.

Kindest thoughts

Helen

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