The week before Grandma Costa passed away, I borrowed a book from the library "Notes on the Kitchen Table". I had her in mind, as well as all my good friends and family. This books premise is that each person writes a letter, poem, advice, story, anything that they would like to pass on to future generations. Then they leave this note on the kitchen table for all to see. The following is an excerpt that I thought really hit home to me this past week.

"Maybe you've been told you have your mother's eyes, your uncle's curiosity, your father's sense of humor. An inheritance is not necessarily a material asset, it is not always money, or jewelry, or land. An inheritance is the connection - your mother's eyes, your uncle's curiosity. It is what we've heard and what we've learned, what we've gained from our family and embraced as our own.
It is what ties us, both visibly and invisibly, to those who came before us.
It is recognizing ourselves as the embodiment of the dreams of generations gone.
It is knowing, deep in the bones, that there is an uncrossable distance between right and wrong, which we measure from having the eyes of our mother.
From looking through her eyes.
From seeing the world as she would have us see it; a road, sometimes bumpy, yet paved with delight. A road meant to be traveled undauntedly while accompanied by worthy companions.
An inheritance is our unseeable soul.
It is our greatest fortune, earned without visible effort - from being loved, even before we were born."

In our hobby we always say to get our stories in our scrapbooks, and do it now. We always think we'll have the time to ask the questions or take the pictures. Do it now, tonight, tomorrow.. Ask a friend or relative to tell you a story, their story, so you can tell your children and grandchildren through our hobby.