A Trip Down Memory Lane
If you are of a certain age, you have heard the phrase “take a trip down memory lane.” “Taking a trip down memory lane” is a concept that describes a person thinking or talking about the past. Often it involves a conversation or interview where the person is invited to think about a time in life and share their memories, lessons learned, funny events, and the related emotions.
The benefits of taking a trip down memory lane include passing along wisdom, the therapeutic value of nostalgia, and the relational health that comes from connecting via story. A quick look at the volume of book sales and movie sales is strong evidence that humans are hard wired with a desire for stories. That deep desire for stories is also true of the people who are close to us that we know and love.
What is one story from when your son was young and you were pregnant with your daughter?
Desire for stories
Have you ever lost someone in your life and wished that you could hear their voice just one more time? Have you ever looked at your child and thought that time is going way too fast and wished that you could somehow capture these moments better than a posed photo?
You can. You can ask and listen. You can record for listening later and passing along.
But you don’t. Like most people you have the idea but never get around to taking action. Why not?
What was life like for you when you were a new wife and mom?
Reasons why you don’t capture stories
There are many reasons why you don’t. The most common reason is that you are busy and distracted. When you are with your family, you are making meals, solving problems, arguing about religion and politics, leaving no time for taking a trip down memory lane. And definitely not allowing for recording the stories from the past.
The next most common reason is that you just don’t think about it. It doesn’t occur to you. The last time you took a video was when your child was a baby taking her first steps. You tried to record a soccer game once but your arm got tired so you stopped.
Maybe you had the idea once but when you sat down with your Father, you didn't know what to say. So you talked about football and then sat in silence. Maybe you don’t know what questions to ask.
One time you were ready to ask your grandfather about his life before he was married. He responded with “Ah, you wouldn’t care about that.” In your peripheral vision, you saw your mom sitting in the corner of the room, shushing you, and mouthing “He doesn’t want to talk about the past.” You have been told by others not to ask about the past.
Possibly you get further along, set up time to talk, ask good questions, and your college aged son starts to open up and tell you what he is thinking. Then he remembers you are his mom and stops cold. It is normal for a person to filter what they tell you based on your relationship to each other not wanting to upset you or to get into trouble. Your relationship with the person is close and the person withholds the truth from you.
For other people, memories of the past trigger stress or pain. The emotional significance of the memory or events may be too much for the person so they avoid talking about the past with the people they love.
You will never regret the conversations and the ability to listen again and again.
Suggestions for capturing stories
If you decide to capture the stories yourself, here are the steps I recommend.
Schedule the time with your family member.
Have a plan that includes the scope of time you will cover.
Ask good questions that invite the person to get lost in the memory and tell their story.
Record it yourself using your phone or recorder.
Upload, backup, and share the recording.
Or you can let me capture the voice and stories for you.
I can help you capture the voice and stories you want to record.
Memory Lane Chats
After conducting hours of interviews, I was approached by a friend who asked me to interview her mother. She realized that I would capture different responses from her mother with my conversational interview style than if she asked her mother questions and just recorded responses. She asked if I would interview her mother and record it for her using the professional equipment I use for podcasting.
Before I knew it other girlfriends wanted the same thing and suggested that I add this to my list of services.
I desire to help and love stories so the idea was exciting to me.
After praying, researching, praying, planning, and praying - Memory Lane Chats was born.
With Memory Lane Chats, you can let me interview your family members and capture their voice and story. You are busy. You can use your talents in your work and life, while I take care of the details for you. Once you have purchased the package and answered a few questions, you are done and don’t have to think about it again until you enjoy the recorded chat. I will create a list of topics and questions to ask based on inputs from you and from the guest. People are more likely to respond to a professional interviewer than to family - thereby allowing for more vulnerability and truth. As an interviewer I know how to read tone of voice, body language, and pace of speech. I am skilled to gauge interest and know when to pursue a topic or back away. For all of these reasons, I am qualified to get the most authentic and relatable story and provide you with a conversation to enjoy and to spark further conversations.
What do you remember about your Dad?
The Memory Lane Chats possibilities are limitless. To get your creative juices flowing, here are some ideas/packages you can purchase from Memory Lane Chats for gifts for others or for yourself.
Interview an older loved one using a mixture of my topics and yours. Keep these for listening and for sharing with future generations.
Ask a teen, college age, or young adult questions focused on how they see the world and their generation. What a great thing to listen to at other stages of life and to share with your own teen someday.
Talk with a couple in the months leading up to their marriage. What a wonderful thing to replay on their 10th and 20th anniversary! Also, great to share with their children in years to come.
Memories fade. We lose people in our lives. We go our whole lives without asking our loved ones to tell their precious stories. We miss hearing the laughter in their voices and laughing at smart aleck comments and inside jokes. There is another option.
Let me help you capture these voices and stories. Each package gives you a 90 minute audio recording of a conversation I will have with the person you love. Get more information and order yours today at MemoryLaneChats.com.
Most importantly, please take a trip down memory lane often with the people you love. The words, the memories, and the relationships created are priceless. You get to choose whether you will make it a priority now or live with regrets later. Choose now!
