PART TWO: POWER OF STORIES: 20+ WAYS TO SHARE THEM - FREELY AND LOVINGLY

More Creative Ways to Share Family Memories:

• Tweet funny family stories, jokes, mottos, etc. Family members can retweet or mark them as a Favorite to preserve them. 140 characters can go a long way.

• Share throw-back family images on social media. We can never laugh enough - with each other, right? (How about all the wacky hairdos or fashions over the years? When we thought we looked so hot. . .)

• Make Pinterest Family Boards to share pics, stories, recipes, activities, etc. Family members can follow each other's boards and keep adding bits with gusto

• Create a family Facebook page - along wit h your personal page. Add pics, stories, etc. Keep it private. Or open it to those who'd enjoy following your family.

• Make a family photo puzzle. Great idea for kids. Blow up a few group family photos and cut them up into puzzle pieces. Put them back together - individually or as a group. You could write family member names on back of the photo before cutting it into pieces. Or do it together afterwards so kids connect names and faces.

• Some people have attached grandma's or great-grandma's costume jewelry - arranged in a unique shape - to a framed, velvet-covered board. You might not want to wear that big rhinestone brooch or screw-on crystal earrings, but imagine them as a sparkly Christmas tree. Write about a fave Christmas on the back of your artwork. Then hang it in an honored place every Christmas.

• Start a family blog. Open it up for family stories. Alert each other when a new post is up. Welcome comments. One person's story might jog another's memory to make story even richer.

• Write a family fable, play, song, skit, or full-blown musical. If you have a talented family, gather musical ones to perform song, show, etc.! Record it so you can return to it again and again.

• If oral tradition is big with your family or culture, share your stories aloud at a family reunion. Offer around a campfire on a warm, starry night for a special memory.

• If you have a veteran in your family, U.S. Library of Congress welcomes their stories in video format for the Veterans History Project. I'm forever grateful to my cousin's wife who conducted a pre-interview with my dear dad. Unfortunately, he died before Julie could film it, and they won't take a written transcript, but we have those written memories now. (Memories so many humble WWll vets were often reluctant to share). Beautiful way to honor a vet's service.

• In a future post, I'll share specific steps to make a colorful, personalized "altered book." I made one celebrating both sides of our family for my dear niece Kelly. All to showcase family tidbits and pics - going all the way back to my great-great-grandparents. A little children's board picture book is the base - sprinkled with Kelly's fave sparkly embellishments!

That should get you started. Imagine all the imaginative ways you can celebrate and honor your family.

Imperfections and Colorful "Messes" Welcome

Don't worry. Family stories don't have to be perfect. Just have to "be." Today, the world's full of life coaches exhorting people to share personal stories in their businesses to build authentic relationships. One current nudge from coaches: Make Your Mess Your Message.

See how that frees you up from being afraid to show a few warts, shortcomings, regrets at road not taken, or memories that aren't picture perfect? Show your personality. Wacky sides and all. Messes and all.... Sometimes, those "messes" are the best, most comforting and powerful memories of all!

Why? With the passage of time, you might empathize more with a family member (or ancestor) after hearing a never-before-revealed story. You might laugh over lil mishaps or momentary bad choice that seemed so monumental at the time. Maybe a: rain-ruined vacation, Homecoming dress debacle, missed turn that created an argument as well as an even better experience, or burned Baked Alaska (my great-grandma's story in last post).

Also be open to accepting that some memories or messes might remain mysteries forever. You might never know why a relative chose Minnesota to put down roots over Montana. Why a grandparent passed on a stock that might have made you all gazillionaires. Or who the heck was that uninvited, grinning person who showed up to "spoil" that cherished family event photo, but still make you all laugh for hours?

Everyone can learn from mysteries and "messes." Just do better next time.

Start Celebrating Your Stories Today

Family stories demonstrate each other learning, stretching, trying, and making poor and better choices along the way. All growing at their own pace - in many countries and through the centuries.

Remember, if it weren't for all their messes and messages, you wouldn't be here. So, celebrate valiant efforts, great loves, U-turns, good tries, and rich legacies. They're all one, big, messy, imperfect, but heart-filled love letter from and to your family. Today - and for many generations to come!

So, gather up and imaginatively share those stories with a great big dollop of gratitude and love.

[Photo of my mom at her elementary school's May Day celebration. Complete with festive maypole!. She's the shy girl on the right in the pair of girls behind the table on the left side of the photo./

Linda Sorenson helps people, projects, and causes make a positive impact. As a writer, editor, and consultant, she draws on her unique global experiences at pivotal moments in time to make a joyful difference through all she creates. Learn more at her website and then connect with her. Let's take flight together today!