Storytelling…

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So, last night something got me thinking.  Jake went to bed right after bath and Abby was having some quiet time in her room before bed.  Matt and I decided to call it an early night and I got settled in bed.  He needed to go lock up downstairs so I asked him to grab my book off the kitchen counter.  15 minutes past and he still wasn’t back and I was like “ugggg he is probably down there playing some game on his iPad.” Wife rage set in.  How dare he.  I mean… hello.  I am all tucked in and now I have to get up. LOL

So, I rushed down the hall only and slowed as I heard giggling and voices coming from Abby’s room.  I cracked the door and then I went it.  They weren’t connecting in Minecraft or reading books.  They were telling stories.  They were talking about class pets that Matt had as a child and Guinea pigs.

I joined in. Then energy was irresistible!

I told Abby about how my sister used to have a class pet Guinea Pig and the teacher had to get rid of it.  My mom, the animal lover, couldn’t let it just go anywhere.  We adopted it and my little sister named it Cinnamon.   My dad built a cage that had plexi-glass on 4 sides with a wooden frame and some handles on the side.  It was blue and open on the top.   Cinnamon loved to eat carrots.  We had a little dog, a Papillion, named Lady.  And Lady would always hop in there and lay in the cage with Cinnamon.   It was too cute.

Abby listened so hard and laughed out loud.  ‘No way,’ she exclaimed.  A smile was plastered on her face. The funny thing is that I had forgotten all about this memory.   And as we told more stories I started asking myself why we don’t do this more often.  For so many generations a huge part of family life was storytelling.  Sharing memories and lessons from generations past to generations future.  Some stories change over time and some stay tack sharp from generation to generation.

We don’t do this enough in our home.

Does anyone do this anymore?  Sit around as a family or in pairs and just share stories from our lives or the lives of our parents or grandparents.  With such a over saturation of social media we need to peel back.  As they grow will our children know more about what Katie Smith eats for breakfast every day than the jobs that their grandparents held?  More about Jack Brown’s trip to Cancun than where their great great grandparents came over from.  More about what Sally Walker wore to school every day than where her parents were educated.

I challenge you to tell some stories!  Or better yet… next time that you gather or telephone the grandparents, or even great grandparents, have your children ask them questions.

Let’s spin some yarns.

Less about connecting on Minecraft and more connecting with your family.  Less filling your mind with irrelevant information from strangers and more meaningful conversations with loved ones.

This cement mixer belonged to Matt as a child.  When I deliver this print to Matt’s mom I plan to have her tell Jake (and Matt) all that she can remember about it.  When did he get it?  Any funny memories with it?  What made her choose to keep this?