filed in Daily Life
Storytelling
Last night, I visited with a large extended family who had just lost their beloved 98 year-old relative. It was a poignant gathering of people telling stories about an amazing woman. For a moment I wondered, who will tell my story? And then I went home and had a martini.
Artwork by Anatol Knotek
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I don’t worry much about having others tell my stories when I’m gone. I worry that there won’t be any stories worth telling, 😉
Just getting through life provides enough of a story, I think.
Well said Stacey.
Wendy – every once in a while, I have the same low moments. I pour that martini and remind myself to enjoy this great life, add some positive to the world in my own way,and the legacy stuff will take care of itself.
Cheers!
Yeah, it passed quickly.
I agree. I can’t help but feel that way too sometimes, Wendy. It’s natural when you are single. Similarly, I sometimes wonder who will take care of me in my very old age if I needed it? But, like Stacey and Denise say, focus on doing good, touching people’s lives in a positive way and the rest will work out. For me personally, it gives me great motivation to take care of my health as much as possible so I can continue to be independent for as long as possible, and also to invest in a strong network of good friends.
With this in mind, I’m cultivating relationships with the next generation. In fact, I just spent Sunday afternoon with my friend’s twin toddlers.
Wendy, that’s what friends are for! THEY will tell your story (at least the good ones!)
And I’m doing my best to accumulate good stories!
When my grandmother passed, sure, she had her daughter and her grandkids and her other relatives there to tell her story, but there was more. We had two services: one where she spent her adult life, and one near her childhood/young adult home and where she would be buried in the family plot. They’re only about an hour away from each other, but the attendance was wildly different. At the service near her adult home, it was local family, some neighbors, and members of her husband’s church. At the service near her childhood home, LOTS of people who knew her when she was a child/teenager/young adult showed up, having seen the announcement. We were gifted with many great stories, including others’ perspectives on meeting her husband (she was a waitress in a cafe he had lunch in on the regular, and some of the girls she worked with some 65 years prior showed up).
People are very nostalgic, and even if they haven’t seen someone in the better part of a century, they will show up to tell the story if they’re able.
That’s a lovely tribute, and says a lot about her.