Happy Valentine's Day friends,

I love piling all the craft supplies we have on our old wooden kitchen table to make valentines with my kids. Stamps, washi tape, old calendars, glue sticks, markers, and SO many stickers take over the surface for several days. The act of cutting and pasting and sticking is very satisfying. It also is an opportunity to think about all the people who enrich my life--my family, friends, neighbors, collaborators, teachers--all the people I love.

In her book, All About Love, bell hooks reminds us that "when we are loving, we openly and honestly express care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment, and trust." Love as action. Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, suggests that listening is an act of love. Sitting with someone and asking them what they learned in life and how they want to be remembered shows care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment, and trust. Listening is an act of love. My work as an oral historian, multimedia storyteller, and educator is grounded in a deep love of learning from the human experience. Our hope as an organization is that our projects--which are grounded in this practice of deep listening--express care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment, and trust and through the process deepen community care and connections.

If you're curious about the process of having a more intentional and structured conversation with a loved one, StoryCoprs has a wonderful app that guides you through the interview process from beginning to end. It's an acessible tool that includes some amazing tips that help you have a more impactful conversation. Check it out! We'll also be hosting a public workshop later this spring in collaboration with the Lacey Museum and Cultural Center, so stay tuned for that opportunity. We are curating three exhibits at the museum this year so stop by and experience the stories. And be sure to save the date for the Pride Storytelling Project's big event on June 7th at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Olympia!

Whether you are near or far, thank you for being a part of our community!

Until soon,

Elaine Vradenburgh

Memory Activist

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