Many years ago I recognised that my ninety year old maternal Grandmother, would not be around forever. The idea kind of crept up on me. I realised that I recalled little about my ancestors or my Grandmothers early years. Previously, it was all about me, my career, hobbies, parties and looking for a mate. I am ashamed to say in this regard I look back and think how selfish and careless I was. I guess there comes a time in everyone's life, when you become less self centred, and more aware (and interested) in your ancestors and your decedents. My Grandmother was still a sprightly woman with all her faculties and, as many older people, had a tremendous memory for things that happened in the past. She was a remarkable woman who had been alongside our Mother, helping rear us through thick and thin, as they used to say. She had remedies, stories, ideas, puzzles and recipes to delight. She was patient, unselfish and an incredible listener. There is no doubt in my head that my Grandmother contributed much to whom I am today. I wanted to remember her stories. They needed to be captured for the future. I might want to share with my children. And I feared that the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that she had would be lost for ever if she passed one day without capturing her life story. Back then, there was no iPhone to conveniently record her stories. I asked her to write me letters, chapter by chapter of her life. She did and it kept her occupied as well as me constantly surprised by so many things I didn't know about the past. I cherish these letters today. They are scanned and carefully stored for my seven year old to read at some point in his future, where he too starts to take an interest in his ancestors. It's a part of my TimeCapsule to my son when the time is right. Remarkably, I didn't learn everything that I wanted to know. I have a Victorian Gold running medal from 1905. It was won by my Grandmother's Uncle, but other than his name, I sadly know nothing else about him. You see, Athletics was my sport, especially track running when I was younger. And I have worn this medal since I was eighteen. I'd loved to have known what this man was like.
Finally, to the subject of the story. I believe that the technology exists today to make it straight forward to capture Grandparents' LifeStories. Digilooms makes this process easy, with a simple App and TimeCapsule function. You can do as I did, tell your Grandmother that you are very interested in everything about her life, and ask her to write it down. Or you can introduce her to the Digilooms App and help her develop an easy LifeScript for saving for future generations. Digilooms works by short video clips, prompted by beautiful questions. Clips are saved into the LifeScript, along with any other precious memories that you already have. With Digilooms, Grandmothers and Grandfathers everywhere, can relax and reminisce on video, while providing an invaluable gift to future generations.
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