A suggestion to make this summer special

Long summer days can truly be a gift. Every season has its own beauty and blessings, but summer, more than other times of year, has the tendency to bring the moments of relaxation which are a step aside from the hectic pace of life. Whether it be sitting in the shade, or enjoying a calm lake, or being mesmerized by a nighttime sky filled with lightning from a far away thunderstorm, or enjoying a cool breeze after a sweltering day, calming summer moments can be so special because they are so nondemanding. As a friend of mine used to say about summer evenings: “Sometimes I sit and think and other times I just sit.”
Summer can also be a time when families can get together for vacations or staycations. If we allow ourselves to turn off the TV, put down the iPhone, and disconnect the video games, these can be priceless times to catch up with one another, strengthen family bonds, and create lifelong memories, especially for the young.
In speaking of memories, allow me to offer a suggestion as to how to make this summer very special. Family stories are often shared when families get together. Perhaps this can be an occasion to record the memories of the oldest person in the family. Gather the family together and have the members of the family ask the eldest member of the family about their childhood. Ask questions such as:
What were your parents and grandparents like?
Where did you live as a child?
Where did you go to church?
What was your first job?
What was something exciting that happened to you?
What is a favorite memory you have?
How did you meet your spouse? What did you first think of that person?
Just allow the person to talk. I have been doing this lately with some of our retired priests and sisters. I have been recording a video of them just talking about their lives: Questions such as:
Where did you grow up?
What was your family life?
Why did you become a priest or a sister?
What was your first assignment as a priest or sister?
What was it like to serve during the Second Vatican Council?
How do you think the Church has changed in your life?
Who was the most colorful priest you’ve met and why?
The conversations with these retired priests and sisters has been exceptionally enjoyable and interesting. I have saved these videos in the archives of the archdiocese for future generations to watch. 
These good priests and sisters told stories which will never be in an official history of the archdiocese (and perhaps with good reason) but they are interesting, entertaining, and important to remember. The same can be true of having an elderly member of the family recorded; it preserves family history.
There is an old expression: “When an old person dies, a library burns.” Upon the death of someone’s elderly relative, I have often heard people remark that they regretted not asking that person more about themselves and their younger years. Now all that memory is lost. It is as if the library with volumes of family history burned.
If anyone is looking for a valuable, interesting, and entertaining thing to do this summer, consider setting up a video camera and having a conversation with an elderly relative. Keep the video. You will enjoy it and so will members of the family yet unborn.