Don’t forget the present

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I do love exploring past generations.

But sometimes I wish they had labeled those old photos better, taken more pictures, left behind letters or diaries…. Wouldn’t those be treasures?

This month, it occurs to me to blog about genealogy for present and future generations. After all, I want to make memories with the family that’s here and now too. And I realize that I might do future generations a favor by preserving those memories.

So, in October 2021 (after multiple Covid delays), our family finally took a long-awaited trip together to Sedona, Arizona. Here are my five grandkids on Submarine Rock at the end of the Broken Arrow Trail.

Raymont cousins, Sedona AZ, Oct 2021, photo by Ann Raymont

It’s the genealogist in me that’s now considering how to produce something tangible and lasting. A photo book with narrative text that tells our story? A video or slideshow, with audio? Will a digitized version of whatever make it more accessible in years to come? Is there some way to engage the grandkids in the creation?

Like our ancestors, we are more than just birth, marriage, and death dates and places. While you’re trying to recapture your ancestors’ stories, don’t forget to create (and preserve) your own! (And please, feel free to tell me about how you chose to do it!)

© Nov 2021, Ann Raymont, CG®

3 thoughts on “Don’t forget the present”

  2. Christopher Schuetz

    Not long after leaving home for work I got posted overseas. Way back then, writing letters home was about the only way to communicate and my father would post the football scores in return. So much was happening to me then that some was forgotten. But years later I discovered my parents had kept my letters home, and there was a treasure of memories rediscovered.
    Comparing my word pictures of then with the photos from the same time showed me that pictures can be flat and words can say a lot that can’t be photographed. So it’s worth doing the writing as well, if you can.

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