As I write this, my brother is in ICU in his home state of Hawaii, hooked up to a whole web of life support devices after a massive heart attack a week ago. He has not come out of the coma and chances are very slim due to the amount of time he was deprived of oxygen before being revived by emergency folks. He is 80. I pray for peace for him and his family.
And I am struck by what I know I need to do — and by what I have failed to do.
What do I need to do? OK, you know me well by this time so you won’t be surprised. I need to write my stories of his life, my “sister” stories, the descriptive “make him real” stories for his kids, grandkids and descendants.
He was the oldest but I was only 16 months behind him, much to my mother’s chagrin! But we were close – best buds – in our growing up years. And that followed through to college when I followed him to the institution he had chosen. But just the “facts” of birth, marriage, kids born, places lived are not going to convey his personality, his heart for others, his penchant for procrastination, his support of me (all the time), his survival of polio as a first grader, his loss of an eye in a car accident as a young man with a family, and his indomitable spirit – and so much more.
This picture is from one of the pages in my Life Story album — it is just a beginning of what I need to write, but here is the brief story under this photo on my album page:
The picture above tells our relationship story from birth on…. Mike was always doing something he shouldn’t and I was the “lookout” trying to keep him out of trouble. And he was always my biggest supporter!
Oh, the stories I need to tell. And you know the heartache part as well – the things I didn’t ask him that I now wish I had. It is amazing how that is already washing over me. How could I have wasted so much of our phone conversations on inane things like politics when we could have discussed more personal and rich topics filling in the “holes” in our knowledge of each other’s lives and worlds in which we lived.
Do you relate?
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was so right when she urged us to “Begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one we had.”
OK – so the timing of all this is quite interesting. This very blog (and this week) is my announcement, promotion and launch of the Family History Bootcamp — FINALLY — this upcoming week. I sent emails out this past week and have been sharing with my family history buddies and I want to be sure and give those receiving this blog an opportunity to ACT NOW.
The Bootcamp starts Monday, May 19 going through 5 days ending May 23 (30 min videos on each of the first 4 days and an hour masterclass on the last day). Yes, there are recordings which will be available for 2 weeks after Bootcamp. It is a reasonable cost – check out the details at the link below.
I help folks, techy or not, pull their family history items into a meaningful and manageable structure in cloud storage they own (not rent) which is guaranteed to be available to the family for the owner’s lifetime plus 100 years. It is a single interactive and permanent digital home for your Family History items, your legacy materials – all-in-one-place — everything you need to preserve and enjoy your family’s history. And yes, I am talking to the genealogists out there as well as those who only have an interest in saving the items handed down to them.
The Bootcamp walks you through creating this set-up in just 5 short days (just about an hour a day). And then what? You are ready to add your items and it is there for additional items when they show up.
For instance, I will pull up this picture above on my phone in its FOREVER cloud storage location, press the “info” screen next to the photo and press my “microphone” icon and start talking. I can tell the story, the details, add as much info as I like, and it is transcribed immediately into the space attached to that photo. It is part of the story of my brother’s life that I will soon piece together into a multi-page photobook which can be digitally printed and shared with his wife, kids and grandkids, each with their own book, if I wish. Or I can just share with them the photos in my storage account.
Your family’s stories and history should not end up in boxes in the basement, fading and subject to nature’s disasters like flooding and fire (boy, do we know this one in Colorado) or even the lack of interest of those who come after us. Yes, I have stories I could share about these items being tossed without even looking inside the box — by those who are clearing out the home after it is vacated.
My goal in the Family History Bootcamp is to help you (and me) preserve our family stories, history, and memorabilia to safeguard them for generations to come — without any other family having to lift a finger or pay a dime. Here is the link to the full details – Bootcamp – Candy McCune
And no, you don’t have to have any design talent or be a full-fledged genealogist — you just have to have a desire to preserve, share and enjoy your family’s history and its legacy.
I guide folks through creating a simple family history structure using the FOREVER digital storage bringing together the photos, audios, videos, documents and stories into your family legacy hub. Join me – and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross would tell you “do it today”!
