I posted these images on Facebook recently as a little ofrenda for All Saints Day and wanted to share them again in the spirit of the approaching holidays. It is so important to remember our ancestors and friends for the beautiful gifts they modeled for us all. It is our duty, in my opinion, to keep them alive by moving their strengths and spirit forward in our own special ways.

Give yourself the gift of legacy this year by reflecting on your people and recalling their unique qualities. And they don’t just have to be good qualities! Think on the bad ones and what you learned not to do from their example. Heck, to say my Pampaw was “intense” is a nice way to say something else. He would get so angry about the stock market and the news and being late for family trips that he would literally turn the color of a beet and that is zero exaggeration. It is actually very fun and warm and fuzzy to complete this exercise. Definitely makes you feel not so alone in your thinking and behavior. It might even make your proud, or stand your ground with a little more umph. It’s one thing to remember someone, but it’s quite another to study them for life takeaways. You may even see these beautiful people in a new light!

My sweet dad helped me examine family members I’d never known before when we were collecting “legacy gifts” for my children. We compiled a short write-up of generations of men and women in our family and the result was highly rewarding and meaningful. I flip through the little books we made to this day, wondering “could my tendencies toward (fill in the blank) be something Mama Pennye struggled or soared with?” “Can I develop a little more compassion for others as Mom so generously demonstrated?” “Do I have it in me?”

As the holidays approach, take a minute to think on your family members, your ancestors, your “people” from generations ago and unpack the special gifts they packed away for you and the next generations of family. Then pass it on. Honor them by living your life with a focus on legacy and how you want to be remembered around holiday dinner tables of the future.