Nana Went for a Long Walk!

Last fall I walked the 800 km Camino Frances pilgrimage across Northern Spain.  Challenging, inspiring, exhausting, and a life-changing experience!  Since returning, the nagging question in the back of my mind has been what to do with the 1000+ photos, what to share and how to share it.  The answer wasn't what I expected.  Phrases began bubbling up in the form of a children's story. "She walked with the wind, and she walked with the rain. She walked up the mountain and she walked down again." I could hear myself telling the story to my 4-year old granddaughter. 

Sometimes stories find us.  A photo catches our eye, a phrase pops into our mind, an emotion catches in our throat as we reminisce around the dinner table. The story that found me was that of a young girl recounting her grandmother's pilgrimage complete with a mystical, mischievous creature who paints yellow arrows on walls, curbs, and poles so Nana won't get lost. 

In my mind I can hear the rhythm of the language and I am imagining a combination of photos and illustrations. I can feel the book in my hands and  see the pages as I flip through them on my iPad. I'm excited!

This is what our storytelling can be! It is as unique as we are and can take any form - a love story, a mystery, a cookbook, a poem, a travelogue, a children’s story…. We don’t have to be a 'writer'.  We can tell it in our own words, in our own way!  The important thing is that we do tell the stories so that they are not lost to us, or to future generations. 

Do you have a story that is like a pebble in your shoe, always there in the background, itching to be told?

You're Like Your Grandfather.....

My grandfather was labelled a daydreamer and expelled from school in grade three. That marked the end of his formal education!  Melvin went on to become an inventor, a successful business owner, and in my mother's memory, someone who always had his nose in a book.  A hundred plus years later, creativity and entrepreneurship are patterns that have woven their way through four generations of my family. 

Have you ever experienced that jolt of recognition when a family trait shows up in yourself or someone else?  As humans we are fascinated by our personal history - how we physically resemble our ancestors, as well as the personality traits, behaviour patterns, choices and values that echo through the generations.

What patterns in your family are a story waiting to be told?