https://books2read.com/Her-Scottish-Legacy |
As defined in the dictionary, a legacy is a gift, by will,
especially of money or other personal property; something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or
predecessor or from the past. I’m
not sure that today’s generation feels the same way about legacies as those of
generations past. Our lives today seem more filled with disposable things and
things not meant to last. As I look around my house, it’s certainly not filled
with antique furniture from my grandparents or pictures that once hung in the
parlor. I do have a small packet of letters that my dad wrote my mom back in
1946 when he left for Germany a month after they were married. When my parents
died, they left the grandkids money, which according to definition is a legacy,
but it’s not the same as something lasting such as jewelry, a pocket knife or a small memento
from a life well lived. Our
history is also being lost because of technology. We don’t write letters; we
send emails which are read then deleted to make room for more. We don’t have to
write diaries or journals for those who come later to know our history.
Everything you ever wanted to know is posted on multiple sites on the internet.
While information is readily available, it has lost the personal element of the
writer who took the journey. If you are one of the few who journal, you have a
legacy for your children and grandchildren. You don’t have to have done
something incredible like bicycle across the country or climb the highest
mountain and then write about it to leave a legacy. While
the definition I found tends to make one think of tangible things, a legacy can
certainly be intangible. I was brought up in a strict household where you said
“yes, sir” and were expected to do your best – in school or at a job. I tried
to instill those same attributes in my children. I can remember once when my
high school daughter not so jokingly said “damn your work ethic” because her
friends were playing hokey from work and she couldn’t make herself call in sick
to her work place. My
love of writing a good story is another legacy I hope to pass down, although it
has apparently skipped my children and gone directly to my grandchildren. At
age “almost 13”, my granddaughter has been writing stories for several years,
some with quite involved characters and plot lines. My 10 year old grandson
prefers his stories full of monsters and explosive action, accompanied with
original drawings of said exploding universes. That same grandson has my
father’s surname as his middle name…another legacy from the past. Do
you have legacies – things passed down to you? Are they from more than one
generation in the past? More important, do you know the stories behind them? Writing
“Her Scottish Legacy” led to quite a bit of mystery in the process of Heather
and Hunter discovering her legacy, left undetected for over twenty-five years.
Available as an ebook at any of your favorite online retailers https://books2read.com/Her-Scottish-Legacy
and in print through
Amazon. Her
Scottish Legacy: Baldwin, Barbara: 9780228616153: AmazonSmile: Books I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while
writing-- especially all the Scottish history and learning about the textile
industry of the time. Wishing
you a creative and healthy New Year, Barb Baldwin http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/
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