Barbra Streisand's song, The Way We Were talks about memories as "scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind". Remember your marriage journey by keeping the letters and notes you've written to one another. Every marriage is a journey that should be preserved for a long, long time.

Grandma's Journals

When my nearly 99-year-old grandmother died, one of the things I truly wanted was her journals. She had been writing notes in little books for most of her life.

I discovered though that she had disposed of most of them. Please don't do this!
From the few that I was able to get my hands on, I have a glimpse of her life that I never fully understood before. One of the really great things that she did was to keep a listing of important dates at the end of each journal.

By looking at that listing, I can tell you when my dad bought his first car, when grandma paid off the mortgage to their home, when grandpa went on strike, along with all the current events of the time and the family listing of who was born, who got married, and who died. Every now and then she listed what she paid for a dozen eggs or a loaf of bread. It is fascinating to read!

Because of my grandmother's journals, I've started a journal that hopefully our own grandchildren will enjoy reading some day.

Love Letters

Bob and I have boxes of cards and notebooks of love letters that we have written to one another over the years. Some couples who dialogue have thrown their letters out, but we believe what we have written is a part of our children's and grandchildren's heritage.
These letters will remain in the attic for them to discover someday along with their own notes to us, cards they created, and their school projects.

Organizing Your Memories

What is the best way to keep all this stuff so it doesn't clutter your home or take a lot of time?

• Purchase the shoe-box size photo album boxes.
• Mark them with each person's name and current year. Have a box for you and your spouse, too.
• Keep this box in their closet or under their bed for them to put notes, stories they wrote, cards, pictures, news clippings, and other mementoes in.
• When the box is full, put it in your attic or storage area.
• If you are the creative type, consider making scrapbooks.
• Take advantage of digital photography and digital films and put your memories on your own website.

Fifty years from now, you will be glad you saved your memories.

Supplies

Photo Storage Box
Blank Journals

Scrapbook Paper