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Preserving Memories of a Loved One?

Posted by timothy on from the making-the-best-of-things dept.

An anonymous reader writes "My wife is dying of metastatic (stage 4) cancer. Statistically she has between one and two years left. I have pre-teen daughters. I'm looking for innovative ideas on how to preserve memories of their mother and my wife so that years down the road we don't forget the things we all tend to forget about a person as time passes. I have copious photos and am taking as much HD video as I can without being a jerk, so images and sounds are taken care of (and backed up securely). I'm keeping a private blog of simple daily events that help me remember the things in between the hospitalizations and treatments. In this digital age what other avenues are there for preserving memories? Non-digital suggestions would be welcome, too."

4 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. Old school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Non Digital: Handprints in clay...

  2. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The best thing I had from some older relatives (now gone) were CDs of them telling stories. One of my cousins took the time to get a few of the aunts and uncles together on the phone and asked a few questions to get them to reminisce. After a few minutes they forgot about the tape recorder and began really talking to each other. That set of CDs one of the nicest remembrances I have of them. My wife wishes she had done this with her parents. They grew up during the great depression and had a lot of interesting stories on the way things were and tales of every day living. Unfortunately her mom developed Parkinson's and lost the ability to speak clearly, and her dad died of a sudden heart attack, so we lost all this oral history, as well as the sound of their voice.

  3. Re:Thoughts. by holden+caufield · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I definitely agree with the AC here. Before I say anymore, I'll preface the rest of my comments with extending my sympathies for the situation you find yourselves in, as well as to suggest I have no real experience with anything remotely similar, so my advice is meant in good faith.

    That being said, I recommend taking a few minutes to listen to the "This American Life" episode where a mother dying of a terminal disease left letters for her young daughter to be read annually. From the story's description, "At first the letters were comforting, but as time went on, they had much more complicated effects."

    You can stream the episode from http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/401/parent-trap (I'm recommending the "Letter Day Saint" act 1 story).

    --
    I'll create an amusing sig when I have something meaningful to post.
  4. Re:put some footprints in concrete by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is a small bench in front of one of the grave markers at the local cemetary.

    When you sit on the bench, you see that the grave marker, runnig the length of the bench, lies where the feet would rest. One one side of the marker is an adult-sized pair of shoeprints, on the other side is a child-sized pair of shoeprints.

    The grave marker instructs the sitter to sit down and tell the deceased child a story.

    *sniff*