===================================================================== "LESSONS LEARNED FROM MISS RUMPHIUS," by Juliana Smith ===================================================================== My daughter's favorite book of all time is "Miss Rumphius," by Barbara Cooney. The first copy got so worn, that we had to go buy a second one. It's a wonderful story, narrated by a little girl named Alice about her great-aunt, Miss Alice Rumphius. Alice grows up near her grandfather who is a painter and lives by the sea. He regales her with stories of faraway places and she helps him with his paintings in his workshop. Eventually, she tells her grandfather that when she grows up, she too wants to visit faraway places and come back to live by the sea. Her grandfather tells her that's all fine and well, but she must do one more thing. He tells her, "You must do something to make the world more beautiful." Alice grows up and does indeed follow in her grandfather's footsteps. She travels to far away places and eventually comes home to live by the sea. She remembers her promise to her grandfather and decides to plant lupines all around the area in which she lives and becomes known as the "Lupine Lady." The narrator goes on to say that she too wants to visit faraway places and come back to live by the sea. Miss Rumphius reminds her of that third thing that she must do, and the book closes with little Alice pondering what she can do to make the world more beautiful. Last year, my daughter and I planted our first lupines in pots, and when the flowers died back, I harvested the seeds to bring to our new house. This year, there will be a special section of the garden for lupines. The book sends a number of good messages, and I am hoping that our tradition of planting lupines will help remind Maddy of those messages. So what does this have to do with family history? Well, I also see some "messages" that we might want to keep in mind as we begin another year of researching our ancestry. SHARING FAMILY STORIES Alice is inspired by the stories her grandfather tells her, so much so that she patterns her life around them. Are we sharing our stories, and those of our ancestors, with the younger children in our families? While they probably aren't going to show much interest in our pedigree charts filled with names and dates, children love to hear stories. Just as I loved to hear my parents and grandparents tell me stories of their life and travels, my daughter is constantly asking my husband and I to, "Tell me about when you were little." I tell her stories of when I was growing up, stories my mother, father and grandparents told me from their youth, and also share stories I have learned about our ancestors. Facts like birthplace and vital events, migrations, and occupations, can be woven into the historical background of the times in which they lived to create memorable stories that children can carry with them always and pass on to their children. If I have pictures of ancestors available, I incorporate them, too. The photographs give a face to the people in the stories. You may want to put the story down on paper first to get your thoughts in order. Don't be afraid to overact a bit. Younger children will especially love it and if you make the story exciting for them, don't be surprised if you are asked to repeat the story often. This will help keep the story fresh in their memory and create a lasting bond between you and the child. Who knows what impact these stories can have? They just might inspire children to new heights as they grow up, just as little Alice was inspired. SHARING YOUR HERITAGE If storytelling isn't your thing, try sharing your heritage in other ways. Miss Rumphius spent time working with her grandfather who was an artist, where he would sometimes let her paint in the sky on his paintings. Is there a certain talent that has been handed down to you through the generations? Drawing or painting, cooking and baking, woodworking, writing, knitting or crocheting, quilting, needlework, etc.--anything you learned as a child (whether from family or friend) can be shared with stories of how you learned that particular craft. Both my grandmother and Aunt Chula showed me how to embroider and Aunt Lynn showed me how to crochet. These are skills that I am starting to teach my daughter. It doesn't have to be a difficult task either. As I write this, it is not yet Christmas and I spent last weekend making Styrofoam ornaments using sequins, with my daughter and her friend. I can remember countless Christmases with my sisters and I caught up in this same endeavor. Tomorrow, we have a day of cookie baking planned where I can share even more stories and traditions with her. GOALS Just as Miss Rumphius set goals for her life and followed through, we should also be setting goals for ourselves, not only in research, but in how we can share our research with others in our family--both children and grown-ups alike. We have a brand new year ahead of us to come up with some ways to share our family history and in the tradition of making New Years resolutions, why not resolve to undertake a project to share and preserve your family's heritage? You could publish your family history in a bound volume or simply arrange documents and stories in a binder or scrapbook to give to family members. You can make a point to share some oral history with younger generations. If it's not possible to do it in person, tape your story and send it to them. You could even make it into a children's book, complete with pictures of your family. Use your talents and gifts to create something that not only tells the family story, but is a reflection of you, and it will be cherished for generations to come. Whatever method you choose, you too will have accomplished that third task. What better way to make the world more beautiful than to share the gift of your heritage with your family? .......................................................... Copyright 1998-2002, MyFamily.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Reprinted with permission from "Ancestry Daily News"