A long time ago I read a blog post about how “mothers are the memory keepers for their families.” It inspired me. I realized that if I didn’t write down our memories, if I didn’t record them, no one would. They would be forgotten, as if they never even happened. So I started the tradition of making a yearly book of all of our memories throughout the year. Without a doubt, it is one of the happiest days of the year when I finish our book and it comes in the mail.
I know what you are thinking because I’ve had plenty of friends tell me the same thing….There is no way I could ever do this, It just seems so overwhelming, I’m not a professional photographer, etc….. I get it. No, seriously, I do get it because I have been there. I am there every single year when I sit down at the computer and feel completely overwhelmed at the thought of doing another book. So for myself and others who have felt that overwhelming feeling, I want to share this Mark Twain quote that has really been speaking to me lately… “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into smaller more manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” In other words, getting started is the hardest part. We tend to focus on the big picture and feel completely overwhelmed so we don’t start at all. You don’t have to be a professional photographer. You don’t have to start a blog. You don’t have to even know what you are doing. All you have to do is have a desire to remember. From there, it can be as easy as setting a goal to take one picture a day with your phone and downloading those pictures once a month to a file on your computer so that you can make a book by month at the end of the year.
I know this isn’t for everyone but someone out there reading this does have the desire to be the memory keeper for their family. Someone out there knows that in ten years they will want to look back and remember what their life was like at this exact moment. Someone out there wants to remember that little story that no one else will remember unless you tell it. Someone out there wants to be the memory keeper for their family. If that is you, I hope that you will get started! Stop looking at the big picture and feeling like it is unattainable and just set one small goal for yourself!
Just so you know, I use www.blurb.com to make my book and you can download BookSmart straight from their website. It is very easy to use! If you have any questions at all, I’m happy to answer any questions! And now I’m off to get started on our 2013 book. Yes, like I said…I GET IT. I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed about doing our books that I somehow managed to get two years behind. Like I said….getting started is the hardest part. But it is so worth it! Just look at those precious smiles and I can honestly say, the feeling that I get when I see them look through the book and excitedly scream “Remember that?!?!” as they recount our family memories….there is nothing quite like it in the world.
