A Father’s Day Reflection On Travel, Heritage & Grief

How are your summer (or fall, depending on where you are in the world right now!) activities going for you? If you’ve been finding it hard to come up with ideas or find resources to help you, perhaps the items I share below will be of use! As always, feel free to use and share these ideas with your colleagues, staff, and families. This father's day reflection may be the thing you need to kick off great conversations.

Talking About Fathers and Travel

This blog is focusing on fathers because it’s Father’s Day this week in the US and because I am in Europe this month visiting my father’s family. It’s great to reconnect with my heritage and create new stories for my kids and future generations. We will finish our journey in Northern Ireland where my dad was originally from.

Traveling was important to my parents, and they passed that on to me. I've enjoyed sharing my love of traveling with my children. I'm thankful traveling domestically and internationally was normalized and part of my childhood. I'm not sure what my life would be like without the travel bug, but I'm glad I have it.

Prompts to start this conversation with your storytellers

• What is something your parents passed on to you?
• What would your life be like if they hadn't passed it on?
• Is it still part of your life today? Why or why not?

Focusing on Heritage and Childhood

Understanding where our family is from and acknowledging our upbringing is a great way to connect to why we are the way we are. Additionally, knowing our parents' upbringing and how they were as children can help us understand ourselves better and potentially relate better to them as the adults they are now. Our childhoods have a deep connection to how we interact with the world and others as adults. 

I know my father's childhood wasn't always peaceful and that impacted how he operated as an adult and interacted with the world. It also impacted how he raised his children and which parts of his life he shared before he died. While many of his stories died with him, he shared the bright moments and the things that lit him up with me and my brother.

Things to read, listen to, or watch

The resources below can be used to help your storytellers recall their heritage! Each one offers a different way to consume the information. Choose your own adventure with the option to read, watch, or listen.

• Read – How to Celebrate Your Heritage with Storytelling
• Watch – Favorite Memory of Sharing your Heritage
• Listen to – Sharing Memories about Irish Music

You can find many more resources like those on the website. Use the search bar to type in the topic you are looking for to see what's posted. If you don't find what you are looking for, send us a message and let us know which topic you are needing.

Storytelling Activity I’m Loving

I’ve been noticing my kids light up on this trip we’re taking, and it reminds me of how little we get to talk about the things that really light us up. 

Our storytellers are often asked things about themselves, but these questions tend to focus on their physical and mental health, not on who they are, what they love. 

What better time to ask about these things than in your next activity? 

Try asking these prompts to get them going: 

• If I asked you to talk about something for hours, what would you choose? 
• Why did you choose that? 
• How did you start to learn/know/experience [topic]?
• What do you wish people knew about [topic]?

You’ll be surprised how quickly people can get passionate! I hope this brings the light out in everyone, including you. Don't forget to share your story too!