While visiting my parents a month ago, I was
given a handsaw that belonged to my grandpa
Boyter. He passed away about a year ago at the
age of 81.
Grandpa was quite a craftsman and he loved
carpentry and woodworking. I grew up just
a few miles from where grandpa lived, so I
was very close to him.
As my father gave me the saw he told me that
this particular handsaw also belonged to my
great grandfather Boyter. As if the saw wasn't
worth the world to me already, knowing the
history of ownership more than doubled it's
worth in my eyes. I doubt I'll ever use this
saw. I don't wish to ruin it in anyway, but it
and it's history will remain in the family for
generations. I'll see to it.
Family Sayings and Expressions
Think back for a moment. Do you remember
words And expressions that your mother and
father repeated on a regular basis? These are
expressions that you yourself may use today.
These are they that may make you feel like
you are becoming your mother or father when
you hear yourself use them.
Some of these expressions like "if it was a
snake it would have bit you" are now clique.
I'm not referring to those. It's other
lesser-known expressions and sayings that
I speak of here. Ones that you
heard all the time.
I, like everybody else, grew up hearing an
assortment of them, but until recently the
thought never crossed my mind. Did my
parents or grandparents grow up hearing
the same expressions? After all, where
Did they get them from? Just how long
have some of these unique sayings been
in the family?
This is a form of family tradition in which
you may have been immersed your whole
life but never knew it.
You may have a few unique expressions of
your own. Ever wonder how far they will
perpetuate themselves through your children?
A family tradition is the thread that binds one
generation to the next.
Family traditions are not only made manifest in
family activities but also in family sayings and
items that are passed down through the
generations. Things that we may not think of
regularly.
Many traditions have been lost to our families.
Many current traditions that you hold dear
are in danger of being forgotten unless
families take an active part in preserving
that which they wish their future generations
to know.
We may want to think of this process of
journal writing, life story preservation,
scrap booking and others as "building"
a family "museum". I'm not saying we
need to build an actual museum. It is
just a mindset.
What would the world know about
American history now or in the future
without the Smithsonian museum,
Egyptian civilization without the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo or French history without
the Louver Museum in Paris.
Thousands of museums have been created
to preserve the traditions, stories and
tangible keepsakes from generations past.
Nations perish without strong tradition to bind
them. Tradition is no less important in our families.
Even the non-traditional kind!
About the author
Michael R. Boyter is the author of the popular EBook
"MemoryGrabber". A fill-in-the-blanks workbook full of
prompts, lists and activities to create your own Biography!
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