Brothers
I have a brother. If I had been allowed to grow my hair long enough for pigtails as a child, he would most certainly have pulled them. Or at least that’s how I remember it! I was not 
deterred, however, and made sad, pitiful attempts to be like him, as you can see here (me, left).
My children are brothers. The most commonly used phrase in my life is “Leave him alone!” (Generally followed swiftly by “Go to your room”)
For all the pushing and tugging of sibling childhood, it is generally the play and the fun whose memories survive the passing of years. Write a
story about events you shared with your brother, and cherish it as part of your lost innocence.
Aunties and Grandmas
This is the wedding of my Nan, Lily to her beloved Tommy (looking uncannily like a nervous Stan Laurel in this image) in the late 1920s. A fox-fur and bucket-hat fest! We had no idea that this photograph existed until after my Nan had passed away, and finding it was like discovering gold. Actually we did discover gold, as we also found her engagement ring which she’d never worn in all the years she was with us.
I was left with so many questions about the faces in this picture, to whom I am related, but whom I am unable to name:-
1. what is the reason my Nan kept this photograph in a drawer and not on display?
2. is the lady with the baby on the right a sister, an aunt, a cousin?
3. who are those awesome bridesmaids and are they wearing white?
4. how was she feeling on this, the biggest day of her life?
If only my predecessors had left me some kind of record so that I might quench my thirst for answers….
Mothers
Even if you aren’t someone’s mother, you probably have one of your own…or had one.
I am making a conscious effort to capture (rather narcissistically perhaps) my own journey through motherhood. I know that my stories will be of value to my children when they are grown.
Call it a mother’s motivation. Maybe it’s even an obligation?
If yours is there, sitting right in the same room as you, please do the following for me:-
1. Go and give her a hug
2. Ask her lots of questions that she won’t want to answer
3. Make a record of her stories
Are you someone’s sister, nephew, granddaughter, son?
Each relationship is a treasured link in the chain of my family tree, and every family needs someone to curate their stories. Let it be you.
