How I Preserved Our Family History Forever In Just 15 Minutes
- DEZZZ WORK
- Oct 15, 2022
- 2 min read
The older my parents get, the more I find myself holding tight to our family history.
My parents are both in their 80s. And while they’re both in good health (for which I’m grateful!) I know they won’t be around forever.
Their house is filled with old photographs and home movies — buried in boxes, albums, and closets.
I want my children, and maybe their children, to know the stories behind those photos.
Because unless we make the conscious choice to pass on these memories, how will they live on?
How will my kids know our family history?
Going through dozens of shoeboxes of old photographs with my 80-year-old parents seemed like a project that would take a full summer.
That is, until I found iMemories — then it took all of 15 minutes.
The Easiest Way to Preserve Family History
iMemories was the exact service I was looking for, and took almost no time at all.
I signed up for the iMemories “SafeShip Kit” online, which was shipped to my door.
I went to my parents house, all but DUMPED boxes upon boxes of photographs into it, and shipped it back.
The entire process took all of 15 minutes!
iMemories ALL our family memories into digital form — I didn’t have to do a thing.
When they sent the digital files back to me, I burned a DVD for my parents to enjoy (personally, I like to look at our memories on my devices!).
Now, they can enjoy these old videos and photos whenever they like — right from the comfort of their living room.
How I Passed Down Our Family Story to My Children (With Zero Effort)
My favorite part of this experience was sharing these photos with my children. All three generations (me, my parents, and my kids) watched the DVD together.
Think about it: How many children get to hear their grandparents’ life story? If I hadn’t used iMemories, these memories could have vanished with my parents.
My parents were born in the late ‘30s.
They lived through WWII, felt the aftermath of The Great Depression, and watched as we entered The Cold War.
From my parents’ living room, my kids watched their grandparents’ lives unfold alongside major events in history.
Memories Fade — And So Do Photographs and Film
I can’t express how relieved I made the decision to digitize our family history when I did.
Not only am I grateful for the experience — for hearing the stories straight from my parents — but I’m grateful I did this project now.
The more I read online about digitizing old memories, the more I realized how fragile these items are.
Old photographs and VHS tapes can easily become worn or damaged as the years go on.
This project is something I’ve been putting off for years. If I waited any longer, who knows if I would have had anything left to salvage.
If I waited another ten years to finally transfer these photos and videos to digital form, I’m sure some would have been lost.
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