Saving Memories Forever

Do do you share memories of the past while viewing old photos?

Last week when my adult son came to visit for the day, our conversation turned to my Mom, his grandmother.

Mom passed away with Alzheimer’s eight years ago, as many of you already know from reading this blog.

A gathering of my children seldom occurs without the mention of Mom. She knew how to enjoy life and my son and I laughed as we remembered some of her funnier antics; hiking her skirt and shimmying down a hot metal slide just to please the grand-kids,  jumping on a tire-swing with a 3 year old grandson despite the small trees groan beneath her weight.

As my son and I reminisced,  he followed me to the storage room. I emptied shelves and  searched for film from a thirty-year-old, 8mm movie camera. Before cell phones, or camcorders I saved pieces of family history on celluloid. Before my son arrived on that day, it had been many years since anyone had viewed are family archives.

Silently, as the first film rolled, I began to count the number of family members on the screen who were no longer with us yet I thought of each one almost every day; my dad and Mom, my husband’s mother, a sister and a brother. An Aunt, an Uncle… the list went on and on.

I hadn’t thought about that old film in many years but I thought of those family members regularly. As I watched those silent movies I suddenly realized how much these reels of film meant to me. I vowed to find a safer place to store them. There are many ways to save memories of loved ones, and with a pang of sadness, I wished I had saved more modern videos of my mother.

1. Video Messages are always a pleasure to view later after a birthday party, baby shower, or  the joining of someone new to the family.
2. If someone in the family is “camera shy,” an Audio Recording would be just as nice. I have an incidental recording of my youngest daughter when she was 2 years old. She “pretended” to cook breakfast for her dad after he returned from a long trip. Now, since she is 39 that little recording is like her warm breath to my ears.
3. And of course, there is a Document Message. Many folks leave a Document Message if they want things done after their passing or some sort of action when they are no longer around. I’ve thought of making a Document Message for my family if I had to be hospitalized. Since I have COPD hospitalizations happen occasionally, then I worry about how they are handling my affairs. A document message would be perfect.

These are only a few of the many ways to leave a message for loved ones whether you’ll be around for many years or only a short while.

Below are a few ways to create memories of loved ones for many years to come though they will always be in your heart as well!

 Photo Editor Collage Maker NIX Advance Digital Photo Sony Digital Camera Canon 35mm Film Samsung Smart WiFi Canon Digital Rebel Samsung Camcorder

SAVE SOME MEMORIES THIS SUMMER!

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