Different aspects of your life can make your story very interesting. One part of my life that has added a lot of joy has been pets. I have had pets most of my life. The first pet I remember was a dog who had puppies. I was probably 4 or 5 years old then. I selected a puppy that I wanted to keep for my own. She was female and my parents didn't want another female dog. They decided to keep one of the male puppies. They told people they had puppies to give away. I remember when a man came to see the puppies and he wanted the puppy I had chosen. My dad told him the situation so he offered me a quarter for the puppy. It didn't seem like a very fair trade, but my parents were encouraging me to accept the quarter; and, somehow, I think I knew I couldn't keep the puppy.
We always had a dog and some cats while I was growing up. Being on a farm, cats were a blessing as they kept the mice population under control. At one time we had 13 cats all black with little white spots under their chins. They lived in the woodpile behind our home. Illness swept through the cats killing all but one. She survived, but had a croaky voice from then on so Croaky became her name.
These are just a couple of stories about pets that I remember from my life. What stories do you remember about your pets? Writing them down will add a new dimension to your life story. What do your children remember about their pets? What did your parents think about the pets you had? How did you get your pets? Were they rescued from the pound or from an abusive home? Were they born to other pets you owned? Were they gifts? Did they show up as strays and you let them stay? Record the funny stories of things they did. Record the heart-warming stories of the love they showed to you and others. Add photos of the different aspects of their lives. Looking at photos of your pets will probably bring back many memories.  When you have finished you will have a wonderful addition to your story.

This is a photo of Croaky who was the only survivor of thirteen black cats.

This is a photo of me holding the puppy I had to sell for a quarter.

This is a photo of Shorty, the dog we had when we had a major fire in our chicken coop.  I remember holding him and crying about the tragedy.

This black cat may have been the mother of Croaky.

Using Photos to Help Write Your Story

Photographs can spark many memories. Collect the photos from your life. Then look at a photo and write down everything you know about the photo. Write down when it was taken, where it was taken, who is in the photo, who took the photo, why it was taken and anything else you can remember about the photo. Now you have a segment of your life written down that you can add to your life story. Pick another photo and do it again. After doing this several times you will have a lot to add to your life story. Of course adding the photo into your story makes it even more interesting. A scrapbook is one way you can use your photos to tell your story. As you design each page around the photos be sure to add the information you know about the photo. This will make the scrapbook not only enjoyable to look at, but also very informative and interesting. The photos will come to life more with the story behind them.

Finding Spare Time to Write Your Story

The past little while I have been spending a lot of time trying to find ways to earn money. It seems frustrating to not have enough money for current expenses. Living in a small town more than 50 miles away from the next largest town means there are not a lot of job opportunites. I've spent a lot of time online trying to find some way to supplement my income. I've decided to share some links that I think may be of help to me and hopefully may be of help to you. After all, if we don't have any spare time how can we preserve our family's story.

Click Here!


Click Here!

Click Here!