A few days ago, I was finishing a transcription for a client’s book project, which was not under any particular deadline except for the danger that the elderly subject would soon expire. I had heard that the client’s mother – our subject – who was 93, wasn’t doing well. I realized I ought to hurry…and then, it happened. She passed away Tuesday night, and it wasn’t really a surprise – more of a disappointment that I had failed to give the client her mother’s stories for their enjoyment together.
I guess you could call this an occupational hazard, though I will say it doesn’t happen to us @ Seventh Generation Stories as often as you might think. That’s why this particular incident gives me pause. I told my client that her mother’s recollections would now have a new purpose as part of the memorial services, providing a tangible sample of the deceased’s legacy. She agreed, and I realize that although it would have been nice to show the elder mother a nice book that her words became, perhaps those words would now mean so much more when packaged as a memorial tribute piece.
How lucky I felt to be able to provide this to the family. Still, this is a cautionary tale for all of you who have someone special in your life whose stories might soon expire with them. Again I put out a call to action for those who will be with their families at the holidays – whip out your video camera, your digital recorder – even a notepad, if you can write in shorthand and read it. Sit down with those elders, because you never know when someone’s last Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc. might be. This may sound macabre to you, and if you’re only reading this because you thought you’d learn how to cheat death, you have – perhaps not your own, but those of loved ones’. Why? This year, you have the chance to celebrate their lives with them, in person, and take those memories down. Whether you package and gift these memories in life, or read them a funeral, becomes immaterial. Don’t wait.
