What do you want to say?

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about the things I want to make sure I my children know about me as they grow older.  I've always felt compelled to memorialize and document what they are doing and who they are, but I haven't done much to document who I am as their mom and who I was before them.  There is so much I want them to know.  Some things are small--will they remember that I loved to wear certain things or what our morning rituals were?  Others are deeper--how did I know their Dad was THE one?  Why did I decide to do the work I do?  They are too young to understand the significance of most of these things now, but as they become adults and have their own families I want them to have someplace to go to learn what our life was like and who their mom was.  I know that there have been many times that I have found comfort and validation from knowing and learning about my parents and their life before me.  But, where do I begin? 

One of the ways I have started this process is by focusing on writing my thoughts on simple things.  I'm now 28-days into a 31-day class with Ali Edwards through BigPictureClasses.com.  The class involves writing about a single word prompt each day and then creating an album that pairs my writing on each topic with a related photo.  It's called 31 Things and I am LOVING this class.  The topics are simple, but I'm finding that my journaling on each one is filled with the things I want my children to remember about our life now.  Here is an example of what I wrote in response to one of the prompts:  jewelry.

 

 Jewelry is a way I express myself.  That’s not to say I wear wild or really bold jewelry, but I love to wear pieces I feel a connection to. Silver pieces and pearls are my favorite.  I’m a big fan of James Avery and I have built a collection of so many pieces I love.  I almost never leave the house without earrings, my wedding rings, a right hand ring, necklace, and bracelets.  I recently gave up wearing a watch since I mostly use my phone or computer to tell me what time it is.  I love to define my style through my jewelry.  These days I’m loving a hammered silver stack ring that I wear on my right hand.  I love stack rings in general right now, but since I bought this ring for myself I just haven’t wanted to wear any others.  I love the imperfections and richness of the hammered silver and the way the different bands stack imperfectly together to form something so beautiful.  I really think it is a symbol of everyday life and the way lots of seemingly imperfect things come together in such a perfect way.  My favorite piece of jewelry right now is my charm bracelet.  It is such a perfect combination of charms I’ve picked out and really special charms Sarah, Cooper, and Lance have given me.  Each charm has a story.  It is just filled with symbols of fun times we have had together and I love the way it looks and feels.  Depending on whether I’m dressing up for work or heading out with the family, I will usually wear a silver chain with several charms and beads put together (I love to put my own combinations together), or a Michael Dawkins silver link necklace with large snake print silver links.  This necklace was a splurge a few years back and I just love it—the texture, feel, and weight are just wonderful.  I also wear my “God is Big Enough” bracelet every day, even when I’m around the house.  It reminds me to keep God first and to never forget how He influences everything in my life for good.  One of the things I like to do is collect pieces that represent special times I’ve shared with Sarah and Cooper so that one day I can pass them on to the kids when they are older.  They both pay attention to the jewelry I wear and they already understand the significance of so many of the pieces I wear. 

I know my children will enjoy having a record of their childhood to look back on one day.  But, as a mom (or dad) it's important that we not underestimate the importance of sharing and documenting who we are. 

Later this month, I'm continuing this process with another class called "Before There Was You"--another class offered through Big Picture Classes.  I can't wait to get started.