Write for Your Own Amusement

“You should write your life story, Fanny. Even how you got your name. Tell it like you would to a good friend.” We oldsters hear that a lot. Often it comes across with subliminal implications like “You’re not long for this world and your memories will be lost to your descendants if you don’t get them down on paper.” It sounds like a horrendous job. We get it, acknowledge it, but we’d rather not think about it. Not now anyway.

Well, I’m going to put it another way. Write for fun! Writing about your favorite memories can brighten your day. Never mind how you get it down. Forget punctuation, precision, all the rules. You can talk without reminding yourself of that, so write the way you talk. If you’re writing in a journal you don’t need to edit. Publishing? That’s the time to get help if you need it. 

I’ve heard all the excuses. “I’m not a good writer.” “I haven’t time to write.” “I’ll get to it someday.” “Nobody would be interested in reading it.”

 OK, now I’m asking you this: If you could read a first hand account of a great great great grandmother of yours, how she lived before she came to this country, where she came from, what the voyage was like, where she landed, how she met your great great great grandfather, what he did for a living, how their children came along... would you consider such a thing boring? Wouldn’t you rather be glad she took the time, even got pleasure in writing it all down? 

To write your memoir can seem overwhelming to begin with but once started it can become a joy. Really. The best memories are the ones you should choose first and write about randomly. Become a story teller like the one you were when the grandchildren were left in your care and they’d always ask you at bedtime to tell about “the olden days.” 

Blogging is a great way to feel connected when you’re well into your eighties and nineties. We survivors are often alone much of the time and stepping into the past to re-live a happy time is like telling a friend about it. You’ll want to be sparing about the bad times. Readers might latch onto them like they do gossip but they’re not good for your own soul. Bad times were bad enough to experience once. They don’t need to be dragged up for rehearsal! You can tell them if you must, but it will not make you a happy writer and likely not inspire readers to open your blog. I know some will say don't whitewash your past. Tell it honestly. I agree, but again I say, start with the good stuff.

I started a blog this morning about the new room I’ve added to my house. It’s been there all along, that new room. It's my patio. Now I call it a room. It's a room with a towering ceiling and no walls! Yesterday I bought a large rug along with two smaller matching area rugs. The rugs practically cover the cement, leaving potted plants on the cement borders. Along with my Amish rocker and the other little rocker I bought at a consignment shop plus the glider that came from Lowe’s Hardware, my patio is a room. Here in Southern California we seldom, if ever, get rain in the summer season, but if rain is predicted I can easily roll up the rug. By the way, the rug looks, yes, it actually looks like a fine Oriental rug but I bought it at Big Lots for $49.00!

In the blog I started I invited you, my readers, to come and sit in the other rocker, have a cup of coffee or tea and a few of those dainty cookies I also bought yesterday. If you were here I wouldn’t be talking about myself so much. I’d be interested in hearing your stories, what you think about this and that, how your family is doing and what you’ve been up to. As it is, when I’m alone and want to write I have to write, as they say one should, about things that you’re best acquainted with. That’s myself.

Occasionally I am bound to say something of more interest. Now I must say, Bye bye!