You know you get misty-eyed every time you hear someone’s story on the NPR series StoryCorps. Mothers being interviewed by their sons, husbands by their wives, grandparents by their grandchildren. You can tell, listening in during the morning commute, that for many of the participants, the experience of sitting down with someone they feel so close to, someone they think they know so well, is still revealing.
We think we know our grandparents, but really we only know them as grandparents. We never knew them as young people, as college students, as young lovers, as mothers and fathers (and trust me, my mom was a far different mother than she is grandmother). And for the most part, we never ask. We never think about how they became the person they are today. It’s like we assume they sprang fully-formed, blemishes and beauty intact, from their mother’s womb. I’ve even noticed mothers, who know darn well exactly how you started out in life, tend to forget that you continue to evolve after you move out from under their ever-watchful eye. So even if you’re 30, many assume you are the same 18-year-old they sent off to college.
StoryCorps is setting aside the day after Thanksgiving, which itself is the day your family probably repeats all the same familiar things you always do together, as a day to discover some of the things about your family that are unfamiliar to you. They’re calling it the National Day of Listening and they want you to become the interviewer.
“This Thanksgiving, StoryCorps asks you to start a new holiday tradition-set aside one hour on Friday, November 28th, to record a conversation with someone important to you. You can interview anyone you choose: an older relative, a friend, a teacher, or a familiar face from the neighborhood.”
StoryCorps has developed a Do-It-Yourself Guide to making a recording. You can download it from their stie.
In addition to preserving your family history, I think interviewing earlier generations is one of those things that helps preserve a sense of family identity and family values. Many advisors recommend it for philanthropic families, so that future generations can understand the “donor intent” behind the establishment of a philanthropic foundation. But even if you don’t have a formal charitable giving vehicle, capturing your family history for future generations can help give a sense of legacy, of shared values and of a strong family core.
Gift Idea: In lieu of a store-bought gift this year, what if you recorded an interview with your parents or grandparents on tape or on video (use your computer?) and gave it to all of your siblings? I wish I had something like that to remember my grandparents by…
