Everyone has a story. And the story matters. Your story matters.
In fact, family narratives or understanding where our families come from can be the "best single predictor of children's emotional health and happiness" according to a recent article in the New York Times.
A friend of mine who happened to be a very good story teller used to encourage everyone to share their stories. "Tell the story, tell it and tell it and tell it again," she urged us. My friend told stories about her childhood, her sisters, her mother, her own children, her grandchildren. My friend passed away over a year ago, but sometimes I think about her stories. Like how she said her mother would nap every afternoon no matter what, she would just announce to the children that she was going to "rest now." I tried that the other day and my kids laughed at me. I'm in awe of my friend's mother (who also had four children during her napping days).
My friend, and her well-rested mother, were pretty brilliant. She could have written the book that was featured in the New York Times article. Because she totally got the article's "bottom line" which is: "if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones."
Stories can be funny, educational, detailed or simple. Stories can be told around a campfire, emailed, texted and even documented on YouTube. No matter how you do it, just know they matter. And not because I said so, the New York Times says so and they still matter (at least they carry a little more weight than me).
Click here to read the NYT article.
I linked up with Mama Kat's Vlogging Prompts to tell a part of my story.
There's a fun trend on YouTube called Draw My Life and if it's trending on YouTube, well you know I want in. (Yeah, this may not be the story that helps my kids' emotional well-being.) So, last night before bed I duct taped my flipcam to the kitchen cabinet (because everyone else had gone to bed), grabbed my marker and started drawing.
Here's how my lifestory is summed up with a marker in approximately two minutes.
If you're an email subscriber, click here http://youtu.be/49P9WgoIv9s to see the video.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already.
Check out Mama Kat's Draw My Life video, it's awesome.
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| Here's the story of a big sister helping her little brother walk on a log. We were on an evening nature hike enjoying the evening sunshine in early spring. |
In fact, family narratives or understanding where our families come from can be the "best single predictor of children's emotional health and happiness" according to a recent article in the New York Times.
A friend of mine who happened to be a very good story teller used to encourage everyone to share their stories. "Tell the story, tell it and tell it and tell it again," she urged us. My friend told stories about her childhood, her sisters, her mother, her own children, her grandchildren. My friend passed away over a year ago, but sometimes I think about her stories. Like how she said her mother would nap every afternoon no matter what, she would just announce to the children that she was going to "rest now." I tried that the other day and my kids laughed at me. I'm in awe of my friend's mother (who also had four children during her napping days).
My friend, and her well-rested mother, were pretty brilliant. She could have written the book that was featured in the New York Times article. Because she totally got the article's "bottom line" which is: "if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones."
Stories can be funny, educational, detailed or simple. Stories can be told around a campfire, emailed, texted and even documented on YouTube. No matter how you do it, just know they matter. And not because I said so, the New York Times says so and they still matter (at least they carry a little more weight than me).
Click here to read the NYT article.
I linked up with Mama Kat's Vlogging Prompts to tell a part of my story.
There's a fun trend on YouTube called Draw My Life and if it's trending on YouTube, well you know I want in. (Yeah, this may not be the story that helps my kids' emotional well-being.) So, last night before bed I duct taped my flipcam to the kitchen cabinet (because everyone else had gone to bed), grabbed my marker and started drawing.
Here's how my lifestory is summed up with a marker in approximately two minutes.
If you're an email subscriber, click here http://youtu.be/49P9WgoIv9s to see the video.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already.
Check out Mama Kat's Draw My Life video, it's awesome.
Hahahaha! Let me just say this... you draw better than I could.
ReplyDeleteAlso, are you still in Michigan b/c I am a Michigander. :)
Great job!Love it!
ReplyDeleteThat was really good. LOL @ "That's a diploma not a gun". I think I would totally screw up a draw my life video cause my drawing stinks ;)
ReplyDelete