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| Source: http://yourstorypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LifeStory_300x300.jpg |
Thanksgiving starts
a month long celebration of family and family gatherings! And, with family gatherings comes an
opportunity to share stories!
The Saturday Evening Post recently published Story Basics.
This is a nice succinct piece about how you might make the most of the
upcoming family celebrations.
What’s key is to prepare to make the most of these upcoming
story telling opportunities! The tips
about open-ended questions (and let me add, don’t ask yes/no questions – as those
are often the answers you will get) are spot on! By the time I realized that I wasn’t asking my
grandmother the “right” questions to get her talking, it was too late (dementia
had set in).
Many who suffered hardships don’t necessarily want to talk
about them and there are those who just think that “what is past is past” and
of no interest to others remain silent.
Everyone has a story and a lot of the story isn’t in the “big”
events or accomplishments of life and a lot of it is found in the everyday and
mundane elements of our life. No story
is too small! I cherish the small story
of my mother peeling wall paper while in a restaurant as a toddler – learning that,
unfortunately after her death, just helped me be reminded that she once was a
child also!
And, I did find that when my children were doing family
history projects for school or scouts or church, they were able to get a lot
more out of their grandparents than I had ever been able to!
Do you have tips to share with those “new” at eliciting
family stories from recalcitrant family members?
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Speaking of story time, check out this article -- New Family Rule: Ditch Distractions at the Dinner Table, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/kathy-buckworth/family-dinners_b_2063245.html
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were growing up we always had dinner together (often in a car on the way to a sporting event) and family dinner was sacred ...
Now that they are older, the rule is no cellphones during the time we are at the dinner table or out at a restaurant. Though, if we are waiting for a table -- I have to waive that rule or my husband get's antsy ...
What does your family do to keep the conversation flowing at meals?
This will apply to your Thanksgiving and other family events -- how do you minimize the intrusion of electronic devices so that everyone is part of the "story-telling?"