Memory Jar

When the kids were first born I had a journal for both of them that I wrote in every single day, it was kinda exhausting and after awhile I started to feel pressure to sit down and write in it. If I missed a day I had this feeling of guilt that when my kids moved out and we gave them the journal that they would have blank days and never know what happened on August 15, 2009.

So I did eventually stop with the journals and recently discovered another fun, guilt free way to track those memories and revisit them later. A memory jar! We keep it on the kitchen table and when the kids do something funny, sweet, or crazy we write it down on a scrap of paper and put it in our memory jar. For the kids, since they are not writing, they can put in a drawing or anything that will track a memory. Make sure to date your pieces of paper such as A hot Wednesday morning, June 5, 2011.

When a birthday, holiday, or anniversary comes around sit down as a family, open your memory jar, and let the good times begin.  Everyone in the family will enjoy sharing their thoughts on paper, putting them in the jar, and then maybe in 6 months or a year going back and reading them.

This is a "Definitely Do" for any family who loves to jot down thoughts, notes, memories and have them as keepsakes. 

My Tip: Once your jar is full and you have read your memories take your memories and tape or glue them into a scrap book so that one day when the kids are older they can go back through it and see all the notes you wrote as a family. This creates a lasting memory for the whole family.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"