Family memory lives in people, not in the cloud.

Granny and gogo carry the thread that ties children to place, language, and heritage. Make time with grandparents and other older relatives while you still can.

Brew tea, sit without rush, and invite a tale about a first job, a schoolyard friendship, a hard season, a wedding day, a national moment that touched the family.

Keep questions simple and open, then listen more than you speak.

Record with care. Ask permission, switch on voice notes, and label each clip with a name and date. Short sessions work best.

Later, write key lines into a notebook that will become the family book. Use real names, street corners, sayings in home languages, little turns of phrase that make a story ring true.

Recipes are history you can taste. Cook alongside, measuring as they sprinkle and stir. Note the brand of flour they trust, the chipped mug they use instead of a scale, the moment they say now it is ready. Take a photo of the pot and the hands that stir it.

Print the recipe and slip it into a plastic sleeve so it survives spills.

Guard the archive. Scan old photos, pencil names and years on the back, and save copies in a shared folder and a printed binder.

Choose a family archivist for the year and rotate the role. Share the book at a heritage supper where children read a paragraph and serve the dish.

In this habit children learn they come from somewhere, and wisdom moves forward with them.