Whether your family treasures are in the form of memories or keepsakes I think it's important that we share them. The good and the bad times. We can hopefully learn and grow from the bad memories, and treasure the good ones. Pass them down to your children as you remember them and you feel they are ready. By relating some of the rough times you can show that as a family and a person you learned to persevere in times of stress; you didn't give up. The memories will give your kids a sense of where they came from and of their family history. I think this makes us all feel part of something special.

We have all laughed at the stories we heard as kids from one of our relatives "I walked two miles to school with no boots in the middle of winter and I enjoyed it!", but those stories themselves are keepsakes! I tell my kids that I only had cartoons on Saturday morning and that was all. You should see their faces! Sure, I had boots and took a bus to school, but I only had one day of cartoons. Share something from your childhood with someone in your family today and give them a family keepsake. There will be many opportunities to share our memories and the act of sharing these is special in itself.

About the author

Brenda Hyde is a wife and Mom of three, a freelance writer, and editor of Old Fashioned Living.com.