It's All About Family It's the quirky, wonderfully trivial things about each of us that help define who we are – our favorite song from childhood, an embarrassing moment in high school, the collection of fishing lures out in the garage – the "Clothes I hated that my Mother made me wear." We no longer live in extended families with several generations under one roof. Our ability to talk to each other – to communicate – has grown more difficult. We're a fast-moving, mobile society. Many of our grandparents and relatives are moving out of  the city and the familiar neighborhood to warmer climates. Our divorce rate is higher than ever which has resulted in scattered families. We simply don't have the time and the opportunity to sit on the front porch after supper and listen as our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles pass along their tales of everyday and long bygone stories. It's through these day-to-day stories that we learned about our family members; about philosophies of life; the experience of those older and wiser than us. It's through these stories that value systems were handed down, like work ethic and family loyalty and honesty. And it's  through these stories we learn to be accepted for who we are and learned a sense of belonging – not because of the kind of tennis shoes or clothes we wore – but because we are part of a unique and growing family.

Excerpted from the Center for Life Stories Preservation and Projects's Web page at http://www.storyperservation.com