On New Year’s Eve, me and my husband Doug took my Mom and Dad out for dinner to celebrate. During dinner, my Dad shared some stories about growing up on the farm and my Mom chimed in with stories about their dating years. My husband also talked about what it was like to serve in the U.S. Navy on submarines, which fascinated my Dad.
On the way home, I said to Doug, “You know, I should write a book about Mom and Dad’s youth, raising us six kids, their 70 years of marriage and other life stories. I can also interview my brothers and sisters about the funny or sentimental stories they remember about the folks.” Being the encouraging soul that he is, he urged me to pursue it.
Years ago, I videotaped both my Dad and Mom. My Dad told stories of his time growing up on the farm. My Mom talked about time at the Camp my grandfather built in Upstate New York. In fact, I turned Mom’s stories into a memoir called the Camp Book and independently published it a few years ago.
So now it’s time to pick up the video camera again and capture the rest of their lives. I’ll transcribe the video and self-publish the book. Another memoir. Something we can pass on to the siblings, grandkids and great-grandkids. Who knows how many future relations will read it.
It’ll give me a purpose — a way to share the truly magnificent lives my Mom and Dad have lived. And purpose is one of the 5 Steps to a Happier Life, which I have described below. Read on and see what you think!
5 Steps to a Happier Life:
- Give yourself a purpose. We all need a goal in life to strive for. It gives us a sense of accomplishment – to be successful at something. Even if it’s just a small thing like writing a letter or making a phone call each week to a friend in need, we’ll feel like we’ve made a difference. People without purpose can lose confidence and give up on themselves.
- Focus on what you can do for others. Too often, we get caught up in a self-absorbed cycle that causes us to spend too much time ruminating. We worry about how we handled a situation with a friend, co-worker or family member, for example. While self-reflection is a good thing, it turns destructive when we overdo it. Instead, concentrate on how we can help others be happier, more successful, overcome a problem, etc.
- Pick one thing you can do to get healthier. You need not go all in with an expensive gym membership or give up all your favorite foods. Choose something you’ve been doing that you know is not good for you and either banish it from your life or substitute it with a better option. Eat more protein. Take the stairs. Cut your alcohol consumption. Just one thing for starters. Then later, choose something else that will improve your life. Read more about how I’ve done this in my Cabin Mama story.
- Reconnect. Reach out to that person you haven’t heard from in a while and make a date for lunch, or spend 15 minutes on the phone with them. Even better if you had a falling out with this person in the past. You may not get a warm reception but you’ll feel better for having tried. And you may be surprised.
- Read a good book or watch an inspiring movie. Fill your mind with positive images and stories. Studies show that it can actually help us become a better person.
Future Projects
It occurs to me as I write this that simply journaling isn’t enough to capture the stories of my life. Not that I’m a renowned personality. But I think my children might one day wish they knew more about my life — their lives. And since all of my journals from 2013 on back burned in our wildfire, there are missing “pages” that more recent journals don’t contain. So I’m determined to launch that project as soon as I publish my Cabin Mama Stories book this summer. (Finally!)
My husband will say not to bother, but I’d also like to write about his life — his growing up in a very small town, his years in Scouting and the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, joining the Navy, serving on a submarine, etc. I find his life fascinating.
This ought to keep me busy, eh? So busy, in fact, that I may not have time to do much housecleaning!