Since the beginning of time storytelling has been a way to preserve our history.  As the oldest form of passing down valuable information from generation to generation, storytelling has helped the future learn how to control fire, how to gin cotton, and even created the desire for space exploration. So what is next in our future, only time and stories will tell.

Throughout history, storytelling has ignited our spirit to reach for the stars. A good story doesn’t only inspire us or motivate us, it can educate us, invite us to take action, and open our minds to new possibilities. 

Grandparents Do This Well

Stories need to be told so that we can remember and learn from history.  Just imagine without previous events or telling stories we would not know of the crusades, the holocaust, the conquest of Alexander the Great, or even fictional tales with some truth, like the adventures of Huck in Mark Twain’s famous tale, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Stories create imagination and pass down knowledge, wisdom, and fact.  

Have you ever sat down with your grandparents and listened to what they have to say about their life? They have lived a long life and have plenty of good stories and life wisdom to share. Grandparents have knowledge gathered from a lifetime of experiences that is worth the time to sit down and learn from. To gain wisdom through their experience and hopefully not repeat some of the same mistakes. That’s how legacy is born and how legacy lives on, even after they are gone.

The Stories They Can Tell

Seniors tell the best stories, and it helps them as much as it benefits us.  Remembering gives seniors self-esteem at a time in their life when they can no longer do some of the things they used to do. Hearing your parents or grandparents tell of life on the farm or moving to a different part of the country, is as important for us to hear as it is for them to relive the memory.  When they start to forget some of these stories or miss an event that happened, then you can just pick up where they left off and finish the adventure.

I remember sitting on the front porch with one of my grandfathers and listening to him tell of living through the great depression. How he had to quit school and take care of his brothers because their father had passed away. Those were hard times but he told the story with no regret. I have so many great memories from all my grandparents telling wonderful stories of their life adventures. The life lessons that I gleaned from those stories, I have been able to pass down to my two boys, and soon my grandkids.

How It All Started

Mike and Rod began Dwell at Home with these stories in mind.  They wanted a way for seniors to mentor a younger generation with these stories because they both had grandparents that passed wisdom down to them.  As the older generation passes down how they overcome life’s obstacles the next generation will have a headstart and hopefully avoid the pitfalls of life. With this model, we will be better at every generation.  Ask a senior a question today and the stories will start!