A year missing

As it stands, I am officially one year behind on my family blog. I guess that tells a story in and of itself: one of a busy family and days that seem to never end in the grind of dishes, laundry, school, work and messes, but for some reason still slip away, lost to that ever-marching void that is time.

This past year has been full of all those things that memories are made of—trips to the beach, our last baby learning to walk and talk, family members passing away, a new house, new schools, old and new friends. I’m scared that if I don’t have a record of it, these priceless times will be lost forever, stored away in the recesses of our minds awaiting their moment to be relived but never getting the chance.

I have a confession to make. I am a bit of a hoarder. Not in the physical sense, although if you ask George he may say otherwise. I am a hoarder of memories. Even as a child, I would save and put away programs from my band performances; ticket stubs from everything from flights to movies we watched; quotes I heard at church; even candy wrappers from valentine gifts I received. I think I must get it from my grandma Rachel. She is our family historian and a savant when it comes to recalling the details of long ago. Her house is filled from floorboard to ceiling with journals, genealogy, and carefully saved mementoes from not just her life, but those of her parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One of my prized possessions is a book she took years to write, detailing her early life and telling stories from when she was a child. Through that book, I feel like I’ve come to know and form a relationship with my family from the past, even those I never had the privilege to meet because they left this world before I came.

My goal for this blog is really that—I want my family to have a history they can look back on and remember. Remember the grandparents that came and spent time with them; remember our family trips and time we spent with cousins; remember births and deaths and how much those people mean to our family; remember friends they’ve made; mistakes we learned from; and most importantly the love we share.

So, maybe I’ll go back and fill in the void of this past year. Maybe I’ll have to be okay with simply starting again here. Either way, I need to move forward so I don’t give up all together. I’m so behind, it feels insurmountable to attempt to catch up, so I’ll start where we are and hopefully be able to fill this past year in little by little.

With that, please stay tuned for updates soon!