Our family experienced 3 very special occasions recently: the birth of a new cousin, assisting in another cousin’s preparations for her first military ball, and Book Worm’s birthday (which puts her solidly into teenage territory). All were emotional moments for me.

Its been a while since we had a baby in the family – 4 years, in fact. So meeting this new little one reminded me of so many things from when my kids were born. On the other hand, seeing the maturity in my niece and daughter reminded me how short of a time I have left with my oldest child.

Both of these situations led to a lot of reminiscing with my kids and husband. Hearing their questions and surprise brought home that, even though I’m a storyteller, I don’t often share the stories closest to my hear – our stories. Whereas my Mama tells family stories over and over until we know them by heart, I don’t relate so many parts of our family history that have made our family and us as individuals who we are.

We rarely have that metaphorical “sit around the campfire swapping stories” time, though when we do, my kids love it. Which means we should do it more often.

Shame on me! Looks like I have some new storytelling muscles to develop! And way more chewing the fat moments to savor in our busy lives.

Takeaway: Whether you’re a writer of not, we all of us have stories that make us who we are. What’s your favorite family story?

Dani