Everyone has a life story! Have you written yours?
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Welcome!

I Love Life Story Writing!

Avocation

Mostly, I write stories ... I have written over 400 true stories about our family during the past nine years since I have been in Life Story Writing Class.  What do I write about?  Oh, about 1500 words, I'd say.  Seriously, I write about very simple everyday things that help the reader know their family members more intimately.  It's one thing to know when and where they were born, who they married and when they died.  It's another more wonderful thing to read a vignette of your Gramma   and see a piece of yourself in that story.  Your relatives come vividly alive on each page.  The memories can't help but touch your life. 

Sorting through all of life's experiences is much like going through psycho-therapy, because while I'm writing the story, I am confronting some of the garbage of my life!  The "coulda-woulda-shoulda's" that we all feel from time to time.  Other experiences I may be looking through rose colored glasses, but it's my story...the good, the bad and the poignantly funny moments!  Each of the experiences make up the person I am today, so I do not look back to blame, only to grow and to share my experience, strength and hope to another generation.  I call my collection of memories "Tidbits of Time."

Childhood

I was a child of the Great Depression and World War II.  Perhaps, because this generation learned to "make it at home, wear it out, make it do or do without", I feel like I have a lot of meaningful memories to share with my family and friends.  My early childhood was in Brea, CA  and I migrated south to Pacific Beach and La Jolla during the war years. I graduated from La Jolla High School in 1946.  Our big 50th Alumni Reunion was September 21,1996.

Family

My husband, Richard,  and I have been married since 1965  when we combined five children in a blended marriage.  We celebrated our 39th Wedding Anniversary in May.  It wasn't like the TV sitcom The Brady Bunch, but we are survivors.  All the children are grown up with family's of their own now,  making us grandparents of ten and great-grandparents of seven. They live as far off as Arizona, Texas, Northern California, Washington and as close as Pacific Beach. That gives us plenty of places to visit and families keep growing.

Political Leanings

I am a facilitator of a Church Writing Group, sponsored by The Amy Foundation, a national organization that encourages people to write letters to the editor of their local papers about contemporary moral issues of the day.  We also write to our State Representatives and our various leaders "inside the Beltway of Washington, D.C."  Our goal is to enclose one verse of scripture in our letters to back up what we believe. Sometimes this is the only scripture people read nowadays and nearly everyone reads Letters to the Editor! 

I volunteered for two years on the Senior Citizen Commission of our City Council.  I had a bit part in a video we produced advertising the special retirement benefits of Encinitas, the flower capital of the world.  In the process of volunteering to the commission, I discovered I was not cut out for Roberts Rules of Order!  I much prefer being in front of a computer! 

Hobbies

We both love photography and delved into darkroom studies for awhile. We did some artsy black and white studies, but realized right away that we weren't going to give Ansel Adams any competition!  Now, we have our slide shows on the computer and make greeting cards with pictures of the Grands!  I also love to crochet Binkie Blankets for Babies at Birth Choice.  It's a love gift to babies that are not aborted by their mothers. 

Values and Beliefs

Both my husband and I quit drinking alcohol in 1973, having partied away too many years to laugh about any more. We now reach out to others who are still hurting in a program called Overcomers Outreach. We trust the Lord for our salvation and we're trying, with His help, "To restore the years that the locusts have eaten".  Richard is an Elder at Seaside Church and I do press releases, posters and publicity. We are happy, healthy, active Christians content with a simple life. 

Ethical Will

The richest inheritance a parent can leave is a Godly example.  I am still in process, but my stories have been told that others after me might learn from them.  God isn't finished with me yet!  Writing your life story is an opportunity to leave your values, family traditions and spiritual beliefs for the next generation.

Do you want to know more about Life Story Writing?  My newest book, About Life Story Writing is a How-To book for writing the story of your life.  If you're interested in the subject and live in an area that does not have groups or classes to guide you, this book is a must for your library. 

Please access the Menu on the right for more memories from Tidbits of Time.