Create scrapbooks to help jog memories

#Middlebury #DonnasDay #Scrapbook

I recently woke up to a spring morning of happy birthday surprises: warm sunshine instead of snow, bouquets of pink tulips from my kids, and a stream of well wishes from Facebook friends. Toggling down the page, I felt like I had jumped on the International Space Station as I connected with former students, neighbors and colleagues living around the globe – wishes from Congo and Zambia, and from France, Sweden and England. Then China, Alaska and Canada. I orbited again and again, caught up in the ride and with the memories of people and places in my life.

But what if you can’t recall the details of life’s memories – your daughter’s birthday or your grandson’s name – quite like before?

Scrapbooks can be a helpful way for those with memory loss to recall specific people and places. (Submitted photo)

That thought hit home when my 90-year-old mother began showing signs of memory loss that affected how she managed her daily routine. When remembering to take her meds at specific times throughout the day and how to prepare meals became elusive, she moved from independence to assisted living at a retirement community.

I discovered, through the transition, that her memories of days gone by were still there; they just needed triggers once in a while to fetch them from “storage.” Like my own cluttered attic, I don’t remember what is actually up there until I start rummaging around the dusty boxes and bins.

Mom’s photo albums, slides and a cedar chest filled with heirlooms and handwritten letters tied in neat bundles serve to jog her memory and prompt the stories only she could tell when my kids and I visited her.

Looking at pictures on our computers is also a hit. So, for her birthday, I decided to pull 100 recent photos of family, friends, trips and activities from her 90th year. I ordered colored prints and arranged them on pages of a big scrapbook, with empty spaces for her to write captions as we talked about the photos together. The remaining pages are filled with “Happy 90th Birthday” cards attached with double-stick tape.

When her family stopped by, her “coffee table birthday book” was an enjoyable way to connect … and remember.

Extra birthday book ideas for jogging memories:

• Create a scrapbook highlighting the decades of a person’s life, featuring newsy things that happened. Examples of events that trigger memories might be the invention of boxed cakes, the end of World War II and men walking on the moon.
• Email family and friends requesting that they send you a note, a drawing or a poem recalling special memories of the birthday person. Compile in a scrapbook with a picture of the “star” on the cover.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

(c) 2018 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.