If you’re anything like me, you have thousands of pictures of your family stashed away in boxes, drawers, and closets. And, not only are they stashed away, they’re still in the little picture packet that they came in. Sad to say, but even my wedding pictures are in a box in our basement closet…I got married 10 years ago.

It’s not like I haven’t bought photo albums to put them in, I just never got around to putting the pictures in the albums.

Then, one day, it hit me. If don’t do something with these pictures and all the little “treasures” that I’ve collected over the years, who will? And who else but me would know the stories behind most of those pictures and keepsakes? No one.

I knew that I wanted to leave something meaningful behind for my children. Pictures, mementos, journals, things that would record their heritage. And here I had done nothing. The thought of going through all those pictures and “treasures” absolutely overwhelmed me, but I knew I had to do it.

Just finding all of them was a feat in and of itself. I never knew we had collected so many things! I must admit that once I found everything, it was actually fun going through them all. So many wonderful memories came flooding back. Some made me laugh out loud, and others brought tears of sentiment to my eyes.

I decided the best thing to do would be to get the pictures in chronological order and then separate them by occasion…birthdays, Christmas, vacations, etc. I then got the family together and had everyone pick their favorite pictures from each group. The pictures that didn’t “make the cut” I filed in picture boxes with the dates and occasion written on the outside. The pictures that did “make the cut” were collaged in memory albums designed for each occasion.

Not only did I get the pictures preserved in their respective albums, but I also wrote the stories that went along with them either to the side of the photos, or on the back page so everyone would remember the special moments.

I don’t consider myself to be a “crafty” person by any stretch of the imagination. The truth is, it really wasn’t that time consuming or difficult of a task. It became a labor of love for me. I know now that my children, grandchildren, and so on will have wonderful heirlooms that depict their heritage.

I also started a family journal, documenting our lives together and also my own thoughts and feelings. It is my opinion that leaving something that is written from your heart about your life is the greatest gift you could pass on to your family. You will be leaving a glimpse of the past for generations to come.

While all of this may seem like a daunting task, it really isn’t. And, once you have things up to date, it’s very easy and natural to keep it going. You can even make it a family tradition of going through your photos every so often and picking out the ones you like best and reminiscing. It’s something you’ll all look forward to.

June E Sheward is a freelance writer and an Independent Consultant for Once Upon A Family. Visit her website at http://www.onceuponafamily.com/june where you will find unique items to help record those cherished family moments.

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