I always wanted to write a book. Which, this, uh, sort of is. (Not really.)

I'm not the sort of person who creates extra projects - Lord knows I have enough of them fall into my lap uninvited that I don't need to sit around thinking, "What OTHER thing can I think of to add to my never-ending, stress-inducing list of things to do?"  No thanks.

But!  This is something I've wanted to put together for a while and I'm finally sitting down to do it.

You see, there is this book.  It's called, "Stop and Smell the Flowers."  It's my great grandfather's autobiography.  He wrote it in the early 90's, printed a couple hundred copies with a local shop, gave them to family and friends and moved onto his next project.  The book wasn't ever distributed, rights were never purchased, book tours never happened. 

Not that he really wanted all of that to happen, but you get the idea.  It's a little book that sits in my mother's living room and is the sort of thing that people wave their hands at and say, "Oh, THAT isn't anything special.  It's just a little book!"

But, to me, it's a BIG book.  It's a book of first person history.  He witnessed a joyful nation celebrate Armistice Day, the end to Prohibition, the Depression and a hundred other layers of American history.  It's humbling to read about how little people used to routinely live with.  It's a humorous reminder that hot tempers and harebrained ideas plague us all.

In his own words,

This is the story of survival through a series of significant periods in American history -- The Great War, The Great Depression, World War II, the Atomic Age and into the new world of computers. It is a narrow slice of American life.

He lived an amazing life.  He didn't waste a flat second and I think this is remarkable.  It is a life that I often think about, in the context of mine, and again when I think about Claire.  How do we do that? How do I create this?  Where is the magic formula?

Life is short.  Sometimes it gets tough to stop and enjoy the little things.  It's hard to think, "Wow, my life is amazing!" when I have someone screaming in the cart at Wal-Mart, because I won't let her eat an entire bag of yogurt melts.

But, at the same time, that's life.  Life, in 2010, for me, IS occasionally a screaming child at Wal-Mart. One day, I'll probably look back at those "old-fashioned carts" we had to use when people actually went to a grocery store in person and laugh.  I'll remember fondly all those times she didn't scream in the cart, back when she was a toddler with a pot belly and only said a few words.  Odd as it is to say, I'll probably enjoy remembering Wal-Mart when I'm old, if only because it's something we do every week and it's a part of our life.

The everyday moments, the most mundane and boring things that create our memories?  That's what his book is about. 

Every couple of days or weeks or whenever I get around to it, I'm planning to transcribe parts of his book and post them here.  I haven't really decided on a format.  Transcribe and comment at the end, comment as it reads, don't comment at all - his words in pure form?  I don't know.  All I know is that I want to share his stories with you.

Maybe you'll like them, maybe you won't, but I'll enjoy reading his book again and putting my thoughts in print.

So!  Enough preface!  This blog is not about me, I have a whole other site for ME ME ME stories. Get on with these OTHER stories, A'Dell!

And, I WILL!  Just as soon as I go pick up Claire, go to Wal-Mart, make dinner and put the baby to bed. 

You know, I've got a life to live.

Comments

[Nothing But Bonfires]

Ooh, I'm really excited about this! Can't wait to read these excerpts. "A narrow slice of American life" sounds like something I'd be very interested in.

[beth]

This is Awesome!! I'm excited to read it - I LOVE family histories. My dad has ours traced back to the 1500s! You should put in a family tree though, so we can see how everyone is connected.
:)