Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Overcoming Inertia

Once you stop a project, it's almost impossible to get it going again. Take the story of my trying to compile my husband's life story. I started 16 years ago when we were newlyweds who hardly knew each other, the inspiration came to interview Allen and learn more of his background. (He's a cute baby-see photo on left.) Maybe I should have done this before we got married, but our courtship took place long distance. He lived in Gila, NM and I lived in Provo, Utah. So, we courted on the weekends when he flew to see me or over the phone and by long distance calls. The year was 1992, long before the Internet had been released to the general public.

Okay so I'm collecting notes and asking my hubby lots of questions to get him to talk, which isn't easy. Fast forward 15 years, we are both retired and I'm wanting to finish this project BUT he wants to write his own history SOMEDAY...That's a big hunk of inertia to overcome but being the patient loving wife that I am–– I wait, and wait, and wait...till I realize because he's four years younger than me, he may outlast me. I may never be able to publish for his family his memoirs. The goal was for his 65th birthday last April, but that date is long past and gone. So at the beginning of this fall, I decided this is it, with or without his cooperation, I'm doing it. The title of his history is The Unauthorized Biography...(That's him with his parents.)

Well I'm happy to report that he is now interested in the final product and having some say in it. Today for the first time, he is sitting at his computer typing his memories. I asked for a paragraph on fishing experiences with his dad (see photo on left-he's from Texas and has a cowboy hat on...) and I think he is now up to several pages but that's GREAT! His history can expand to fit whatever, but I will publish it by CHRISTMAS or ELSE...

7 comments:

  1. Lin, I was intrigued by your posting title when I saw in come up in my sidebar this morning.

    I know about that..... projects are truly meant to be finished at the time...... in my past, I've finally discarded projects that were so old and tangled, I didn't have the energy to sort it out and start again (mostly needlework).......

    Glad the ball is rolling again for you and hubby........

    Wishing you happy progress and lots of fruit for your labour!

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  2. I would love to do something similar for my hubby. However, his parents had a miserable marriage and spent the last 8 years of their marriage apart in separate nursing homes. How much should be revealed in his biography?

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  3. I admire your persistence in working on hubby's memoirs! What a lovely gift to his family and how great that you have taken on this project.

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  4. I'm glad you stuck with it, Lin. I suspect your husband needed your "urging" to get himself to buy into the idea.

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  5. I LOVE these pictures....thank you for getting him to write his history...I never, and I mean never, talked to us about his life growing up!!!

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  6. Yae, Lin! Way to go! I'll bet your husband is thrilled. My husband would be the same way.

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  7. You go girl...If you talked to my husband you would think he was raised and then given a drug so he forgot about it. It would be like pulling teeth to get info from him...

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