Due to social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, so many of us are spending more time indoors than usual. While I wholeheartedly encourage being outdoors if it’s feasible and safe, why not make interesting use of our indoor time to take steps toward preserving our family history? I’m not talking genealogy detective work here (though that’s a fine option, too), but rather things we can do to preserve the stories of our own—living—family members.
Whether you are home alone and need a break from your screen or hunkered down with another family member, here are specific ideas for each scenario.
Home alone?
Organize
Now is as good a time as any to pull out those boxes of dusty family photos and begin to sort and identify them, as well as to get the image scrolls on your devices under control. In brief: Use the time to
Get rid of duplicates and begin to organize photos by theme or year.
Select print photos to scan (easily done by oneself with an app for social sharing and basic digitization, or by a photo management specialist for use in books or a family history archive).
Identify people and places in your most important pictures. If you’re unsure, use the time to connect with family and friends to see if they might be able to help with identification.
Consider writing short vignettes about some of your favorite photos. You’ll not only bring the scene to life, but provide the next generation with something more meaningful than a boring old print that could otherwise be relegated to an antique store.
Home with an aged parent?
Record
Whether you are a caregiver living with your parent or concerned about their well-being from afar, this is an opportunity to ask questions, delve into the stories from their past, and capture some as yet unrecorded chapters of your parents’ history. Eldercare facilities of all kinds have restricted visitation, and I know from experience (I gave a talk at a retirement community in Teaneck, New Jersey, just a few days before the city enacted emergency measures due to COVID-19) that worry is high.
Talking—by that I mean true conversation characterized by generous listening and genuine story sharing—is a balm to such worries.
Call your parents and ask if they can set aside some time devoted to an informal interview.
Write up some questions or ask them to pick a topic they would like to tell you about. Big decisions and transitional periods in life generally spark vivid memories and stories with life lessons. Perhaps this pandemic with remind them of other periods in history they lived through, or hardships they endured.
Record your conversations. Browse these free voice recording apps to learn how; a few of them even have options for automatic transcription (fee applies).
Home with a school-age child?
Teach
Depending upon the age of your child, schools may be sending home virtual lessons and homework, but there will no doubt be time left over for additional learning. If you’d like to engage kids in in some family history themed work (it’s history, but it’s recognizable!), consider these ideas:
Encourage kids to start their own family history podcast. Allow them to use your smart phone or their own tablet to get creative in a new way: Interview grandparents, research the time periods in which they lived, and create a fun audio story for others to listen to!
Have your kids draw a family tree. Students in third grade and up can likely even use online resources to craft a digital family tree including family photos. (My 10-year-old son uses Google Docs or Google Slides, where he can pull info from the web as well as incorporate photos of his own.)
Watch a documentary together. The Washington Post offers up this great list that includes a few on my own “family watch list.” Converse about what you’ve learned, and about ways people’s experiences in the film may have mirrored your own or your ancestors’ (make it personal!).
Home with a baby?
Journal
I remember the adage well: Sleep when your baby sleeps. I never could adhere to that (well meaning) advice myself, and I can imagine that right now the pervasive anxiety about the Coronavirus and its fallout may distract even more exhausted parents from rest. I suggest journaling during this time as a means to cope with emotions even as you create a record of this historic time. Your first-hand account of these days will become a part of your personal history that your child(ren) will no doubt one day wonder about.
Stay safe, of course, and stay kind. Be cognizant of doing the right thing for the community at large, and, if you are indeed homebound for a period of time, I hope you will take advantage of the time to undertake one or two of these activities to help preserve your legacy.