The mere thought of it taking until I was 22 years old to truly understand what my
grandfather did for a living is baffling to me. In a single afternoon, I learned more
about who I was than in all my years staring into a mirror each morning. It was
from this single encounter that I altered my perception of where I came from and
who I was determined to become.

Here’s the truth to it all: this life is finite. We have X number of days on this earth
to live, love, cry, celebrate, and learn all the wonders of the world. With this being
said, those we love most only have X number of days as well. Try as we might to
live in the moment and soak up all the stories and wisdom they have to tell; our
memories can only serve us for so long. Record their voice. Record their smile.
Record their laugh, their facial expressions, their hand movements – record the
telling of their lives through the very voices that lived each moment.

I have a mere 16 second voicemail from my maternal grandfather. That’s it.
That’s the only way I get to hear his voice now. If I could go back in time and
record him describing his love for fixing up old cars, what it was like to work on a
farm for 50+ years, or how he made his secret BBQ sauce recipe, I’d do it in a
heartbeat. These documentaries are the single most intimate gifts I could ever
give my family. They mean the world now but will mean even more later. Take the
opportunity to capture your genealogy while you still can.