Capture History Now

August 29, 2012

I love old things, antique things, and ancient things. When I walk through my favorite antique store I’m often heard saying, "I wonder who held this before me." I’m in awe when I pick up a hundred year old book and try to feel all the other souls who touched it. I find that history and its individuals with fantastic stories fill me with joy and wonder at times past. And so often am I looking back, that sometimes I miss today. 

I remember as a child that I loved looking at my baby book. My mom had carefully filled some things out, but as I got older, more and more things weren’t written down. I thought to myself, "When I’m a mom, I’ll write all those things down. I’ll remember to do it." And now my daughter is seven and my son is five, and their baby books are just alike; filled with gusto the first few days and as time went on, pages are empty. I spent so much time with them in the "today" that I forgot to remember their past.

So where’s the balance? How can I remember the past and not forget today when I’m living today and forgetting to write the past for my family? In the age of technology, there are a few things I can do to capture today. I can snap a photo like I did the other day with my son. He dressed up in his suit and made a hair curl out of black construction paper and taped it to his head. He just wanted to be Clark Kent for a few hours. I can take a quick note on the funny things my daughter says either in a note pad or my virtual note taker, on my phone. But what can you do?

To start, you can join us at the Midwest Genealogy Center on Saturday, September 15th at 10:00 a.m. for Capture History Now with Beth Foulk. She will walk you through the things you can start doing to be a "memory catcher" today, so that the awe and wonder you feel about yesterday will be passed on for generations to come. This class is for adults and registration is required.  

Cynthia S.
Midwest Genealogy Center