[Carla B]

I wish I knew more about my grandparents and their parents. I never met my grandmothers and only met each of my grandfathers one time. Recently, through a 3rd cousin discovered on ancestry.com, my brothers and I learned some things about our mother's family history that we didn't know. Please don't destroy your work, your decedents will someday love to have it.

[Debset]

Since you still have those diaries keep them! I packed mine along with other precise items in a box that I asked friends to store for me until I got settled here. Don't you know the box mysteriously disappeared??I'm devastated. Keep what YOU have, and in your OWN hands!

[DeafDeaf]

Simple, donate to your alma mater! Huh?

[bpascani]

I would say, if there aren't any secrets that shouldn't be disclosed (and it doesn't sound like there is), I would keep them and specify for the grands, if they want to read them. I have a few letters that my mamma saved, that I wrote to them from various camps or visiting friends/family, but my favorite is the letter that my maternal grandfather wrote to my grandmothers brother (their parents were deceased early on), requesting is blessing to marry my grandmother, and explaining his feelings about my granny and his plans for making sure he was able to care for her always! (and he did, until he died). I still have that letter and love reading it. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, my mother would be 100 this year, and Granny would be 132 (born 31Dec 1887) Decided to go pull the letter. It was written Nov 17, 1917!! SO, yes!! Keep them. I was a grandchild that LOVE having this letter!

[harrisimard]

My Grandmother was born in 1901 and she use to tell us about the world she grew up in and we were facinated, but just look at all the changes since we were growing up. I wish I had written down all the stories she use to tell us , like that her father was a lamp lighter Kids today would be interested in hearing about us in the 50's
the changes we have seen they can never imagine.

[Quixote]

A friend, not knowing I didn't have any such inclination, set up a reading for me with a psychic. To be polite, I went. She asked me several times if I had questions for her, but I couldn't think of any, so we shared stories. At some point she asked me if I'd ever written any of these stories down—and the conversation went something like this: No. Why not? Because they're my stories, my life experiences; everyone has his own; what relevance could my stories have to anyone else? You're wrong; you have no idea how something you've written—even something relatively unimportant to you—could just touch the next person in ways that you cannot possibly anticipate. Okay, I'll think about it; thank you.

Three days later I had an appointment with my primary care physician (who is also a close friend), and I was telling him a story that had some relevance to him. He then asked me if I'd ever written any of these stories down—and the conversation went something like this: No. Why not? Because they're my stories, my life experiences; everyone has his own; what relevance could my stories have to anyone else? You're wrong; you have no idea how something you've written—even something unimportant—could just touch the next person in ways that you cannot possibly anticipate. Can't help but notice: EVEN THE SAME WORDING!

Now, whenever I write a story, I send a bcc to myself and am collecting them in a folder. The next question is if I'll do something with the contents of the folder. Check back next year.... Keep the diaries in whatever form, though as previously pointed out, digitizing them is easiest in terms of storage. A huge amount can be put on a single CD; if one wants to include pictures, use a blank DVD which holds as much as several CDs. You can then give them to those family members whom you feel would most value the contents.

[ALadysMom]

Originally Posted by Carol5154

I have been journaling for 20 years, and occasionally spend a few hours reading through them. Both happy and sad memories and many stories about my grandchildren. I have my journals labeled with the years written. I loved my mother & grandmother dearly, I would give anything to have their journals to read. Their thoughts & written words would bring them back for a short time & I would embrace them. My daughters would be upset with me if I threw mine away, they enjoy the stories I read to them from several years ago. My advice to you would be to keep them. They could be a true treasure for your grandchildren.

I agree. Keep them They are irreplaceable. What other stuff would be more precious for you to keep tucked under a bed or in a closet instead of those?

Scanning some is a good idea for more reasons than just downsizing. Often precious heirloom items become problems for your heirs. What if they live in a barracks or a studio apartment & literally have no place to store them? What if there is more than one heir who wants them but each one is totally unique & not divisible? What if one heir is an aggressive Taker while another is a submissive Giver who may not receive a fair distribution?

Scanning at least a few of your more precious memories might prevent a total loss in a fire and would allow for a more fair distribution with easy storage.

A scanner is a great way to go but taking photosWith your phone’s camera then storing those in a file on your phone or computer accomplished pretty much the same thing with less fuss. Your phone’s photos will probably not quite be as well-cropped, etc. as a scan though. And an added benefit is you could even begin to distribute them now via email attachments.

[ALadysMom]

Thank you for starting this thread. I’ve enjoyed reading the posts a lot.

I have only one letter my Grandpa. It was the only time he ever wrote to me. He wanted to tell me how proud he was of my college education, especially since he only finished grade school. I was preparing to graduate and I was the first in my family (on both sides) to get a college degree. Grandpa had a massive heart attack as he was walking back to the house after putting the letter in his mailbox at the end of his driveway. I received his letter in the mail on the day he died. I had his unopened letter In my hands when my Dad called to tell me Grandpa died. I am still very grateful, yet sad, every time I even think about it.

Please keep your journals.

[bpascani]

Wow, I don't see the post I made, as to why you should keep this for future generations. That's sad, for me, but, makes me happy to go back and look at my 'thing', once again.

[Kathi71]

DON"T throw them out. Someday they will be a treasure to a grandchild. If all else fails you ask the genealogy society in the town you grew up in if they are interested in them. They are actually a time capsule of history, culture, attitudes, etc. I would be thrilled if one of my ancestors had kept diaries.

[banjobob]

Shred 'em

[Madelaine Amee]

I have read with great interest this thread and, for me, it has made a difference. I have decided to spend some time each day to leave a history for my great grandchildren. I know absolutely NOTHING about my grand parents, I will not make the same mistake.

[Bellavita]

Keep them

[dougawhite]

When my dad died we begged our mom to write down her life stories, partly to keep her busy. She recently passed and now we have 4 typed pages that describe some important moments of her life. A local historical society in her hometown requested to print some of her story because she recalled about almost being killed during the infamous '38 hurricane. Also, it turns out she was the 1st grandchild of the subject of a history recently written about her grandfather, who was a key leader of an Italian anarchist movement against Mussolini. I had no clue of this.

[ALadysMom]

For many complicated reasons, my family never really spoke about one of my uncles who had died in the war. Recently, I started searching online about him. The Internet is much-maligned but the facts I found made me have a different perspective! He was killed in a Japanese bombing raid in the Aleutian Islands (off of Alaska) in WWII while serving as a naval airplane metal smith. I found many wonderful details about him, his life, his death & his burial plot online. There are even recorded interviews of fellow service survivors on the National Archives Website! I am so proud
of him and I want to know more. I had never known where the Aleutian Islands are nor that there was activity there during WWII.

Family history is something that not everyone enjoys but to those of us who are interested it is fascinating. I’d much rather read about events I have a connection to than while away my time on fiction.

BTW Did you know that journaling, particularly recording gratitude, is very therapeutic? So even if your journals ONLY make you happier and they are never appreciated by anyone else....YOUR happiness is worth it.