Saturday, August 8, 2009

Have You Written Your Letters of Love?

I love when my family gathers for Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays or just weekend get-togethers. Besides doing a lot of eating, my parents always talk about the "days of old" when they were kids, what they did for fun, what jobs they had growing up, what my grandparents were like when they were my age, and so on. All my grandparents passed before I was 20 years old, and we lived in a different state from them, so I cherish any stories that my parents can relay regarding my family history. Now that my mom is turning 79 this year, and my dad just turned 81, I worry about keeping those stories for my children.

About three months ago, my mom decided she was going to start writing down her thoughts, her memories of her childhood, what life was like living during WWII, the Cold War, what they were doing when JFK was assassinated, home-delivered dairy products and being the last family on the block to get a TV (black and white, mind you). She started writing this down on a notepad, but told me that many times she would remember a story while at the grocery store, or in line at a bank, or while driving in her car, and by the time she got back home, usually forgot what she had wanted to write down.

I suggested that she nix the pen and notepad and instead dial into TTE's dictation system. Now, when she has a thought or a memory that she wants to capture for her family's Legacy Journal, she picks up her cell phone and can immediately dictate her thoughts. TTE will keep the audio, compile all her recordings onto one CD or transcribe her thoughts from the audio recordings into a final legacy journal. What a wonderful way to share grandma's thoughts with my children and grandchildren - a CD with grandma's voice sharing her adventures, my history.

If you or your folks are getting on in years and you would like to preserve your most treasured memories, with your own voice, give TTE a call and we will get you started creating your Journals of Love.

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