Building a legacy is becoming popular as people are showing more interest in this transfer and passing-down of non-financial assets from generation to generation. Preserving all of life’s stories, values and memories are extremely important due to unexpected events that bring to light the reality of life’s fragility.
Here are a few helpful ways to preserve your parent’s legacy in our technologically-driven day and age:
- Spend quality time asking your loved ones what really matters in life. What do they value and what ethics have guided them thus far? What do they believe in and what is life, love, etc. to them?
- As far as pictures, videos, slides, etc. go, either get a flash drive and put all of these onto one home drive to preserve or find a website that allows you to upload all types of digital and hard-copy uploads of memories for long-term archive storage. These videos and photos will become treasured possessions for generations to come!
- Asking the right questions: move beyond the yes and no and dive deeper! Ask about how they felt during this event or season of life or what changed significantly from some happening. Ask them about their childhood and favorite memories, the hardest thing they’ve ever gone through, what they learned from this friend, what their dreams were at this age, etc.
- Identify your loved ones’ strengths and capitalize on those. Create a family tree of strengths and lessons they learned from their ancestors and keep this going! Such a neat idea of the patterns in generations.
- Telling the true story: if you are creating a memory book or writing everything down, keep it true to the narrator’s experience. Use a tape recorder if necessary or make a home video of some of the story times.
By taking these steps and whatever you may be doing already to preserve your parents and ancestors legacies and values, you will benefit and help future generations to come! It even serves as a great way for you to carry on this legacy to your children and be a role model and allow your children and grandchildren a way to live, carrying the legacy of your family and ancestors, from generation to generation.
Carry on your legacy at Tealridge Assisted Living and Memory Care. Contact us here for more information.
