Cherished Moments: How to Make Memories That Last a Lifetime
While we all know it’s important to build lasting memories with those we love, sometime it’s difficult to know how to achieve this.
For guest blogger, Rosie Buckley, this is a subject close to her heart, and here she offers some wonderful tips to help make memories you will cherish long after they have gone.
Making memories with our elderly family members gives us a sense of comfort. They’re something to look back on to make us smile on days when we don’t feel our best.
Unfortunately, our elderly family members won’t be around forever, and it’s nice to have happy memories to remember them by. Here are some ways you can create memories that last a lifetime:
1. Quality time is key
Do activities they enjoy together: If they enjoy a specific hobby, then give it a go! It’s always exciting to try something new, and it’s nice for your loved one to see that you care about their interests. If they don’t have a favourite hobby, try reading to them. Reading to the elderly is a great pastime, and a fun way for both of you to escape together for a little while.
Make yourself present: Put your phone away and free yourself of distractions. Showing you’re present and willing to listen to what they have to say will make your loved one feel appreciated. Really living in the moment can create amazing memories that you’ll remember forever.
2. Relive shared memories
Record memories: It’s good to live in the moment, but remember to record memories where you can. Whether it’s recording videos, taking photos or writing notes, these can be treasured in years to come.
Go through photos and videos together: As well as creating new memories, you can also revisit old ones. Your loved one might have a photo album somewhere that you don’t know about. They may even have photos of family members from before you were born to look through!
3. Learn their life story
Ask about their life: A gift went viral on social media recently which was a book full of questions about life experiences for your loved ones. The point of the book is that they answer the questions inside and then return it to you. This is a really effective way of learning about their life.
You could even make your own book of questions to make it more personalised, or ask them about their life in person. They would have lived through events that you weren’t alive to witness, so ask them about this too. You’ll learn something new!
4. Create something together
Work on something together: How you go about this can depend on what they’re passionate about and what you both enjoy. If they love making food in the kitchen, create something together like cakes or flapjacks. If they love art, you could work on a scrapbook together.
This is a great way of making fun memories whilst having a good catch up.
5. Go places together
Ask them where they want to go: Whether it’s a café, a museum or going on a walk, there can be plenty to do! Ask them what they’d like to do as a starting point and go from there. If they are able to get out and about, they can create incredible memories.
Visit meaningful places together: Go somewhere that means something to both of you like your favourite childhood zoo. This is a great way of revisiting old memories and also creating new ones.
6. Show them you love them
Tell them with words: Telling your loved ones how much you care for them will really make them smile. It’s easy to forget to tell people how we feel about them in the midst of our busy lives. Talk about the times where they made you smile or made your day.
Give them a gift: Something simple like a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates can go a long way. You could also make something for them from scratch. This might be homemade cookies or a drawing. A present doesn’t have to be anything fancy, something small can hold a lot of meaning as well. Looking back on it, you’ll remember how happy they were when you gave the present to them.
Life is short
It’s important to live in the moment and appreciate our loved ones. Cherishing important moments is a perfect way to do this. What are you waiting for? Go and make some plans with your elderly loved one and show your appreciation!
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