A multimillion-dollar industry has been built around fancy books to hold your family history in. Multiple websites let you upload your photos and publish them in leatherbound, goldleafed albums, creating something that looks like it came off a coffee table at Barnes & Noble. These books aren’t cheap- but I want to say they’re worth it.
I remember as a child perusing the books on my family’s bookshelf and coming across a book with a heavy leather cover and gold-plating on the corners and spine. Inside, photos of my parents’ wedding and newborn babies, pedigree charts, and important dates had been lovingly placed on each page. On the cover were the words: Book of Remembrance.
I knew instinctively that this book was different. Somehow it was more important than my father’s volumes on Shakespeare or American History. It was the story of our family, and, by its very appearance, it told us that our family was precious.
I hear people gripe about the vanity of purchasing expensive books with exquisite designs and costly binding. But I believe that some things are worth the cost. Flatscreen TVs, smartphones, handbags: not necessarily worth the price. But spending money to tell your children and the world how important your family is to you: always worth it.
I am not saying that expenditure of money can replace real family affection and quality time. But I am saying that we need to put our money into things of lasting value- and our families definitely fall into that category.
Tags: childrearing, children, family, Family History, family tree, genealogy, history
