A One-of-a-Kind Gift for a Milestone Birthday
What do you give someone celebrating a milestone birthday when they already have everything they need? For the Brad family it was a one-of-a-kind gift to express the love and memories from her closest and longest friends and family.
I began working with the Brads almost a year out from Bayle’s 85th birthday. We started with a individual interview looking back at her childhood and school years, through to her kids, marriage, grandkids and even great-grandkids. I heard stories from when she moved to a new country as a teenager and then back to Chicago with her three kids and the love of her life. She really enjoyed the time looking back and remembering stories she hadn’t thought of in years.
From there, the surprise began. Together with the family, we determined a list of friends and family members along with a list of questions each person will answer. Over the course of the next few months I began interviewing. In all, we collected 27 messages ranging from in-person interviews and detailed stories to emailed audio files with birthday wishes from the 8 great-grandkids.
At the same time, a trip to Canada was planned. Bayle spent her teens and early adulthood in a small town in Canada and still speaks weekly with her best friends. Bayle’s daughter and I flew to Canada and had a lovely lunch talking about their time together with lots of laughter and even some tears. Of course, my recorder was on the whole time and working overtime. I let the conversation flow but was able to direct the discussion to hear the stories and memories of their time spent with Bayle.
On Bayle’s 85th birthday she was shocked to hear the voices of her past and present, friends since childhood and the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren telling her how much they love her and remind her of the memories they created throughout her life. It was a fun surprise and from what I hear, she listened repeatedly over the long birthday weekend and in the time that followed.
The sky is the limit on how we can work together and the types of keepsakes we can create. This page here will give you a good starting point. Reach out and let’s discuss how we can create something together.
