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Your Life is Your Story, Issue #233 – Functional Family Fun February 26, 2026 |
| Greetings "Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams." 
Your Life is Your Story Newsletter February 26, 2026 Your Life is Your Story, Issue #233 – Functional Family Fun From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com In this Issue: Opening remarks: What’s Up? Featured Article – Functional Family Fun Featured Resource – Author Connections to Readers Opening Remarks: What’s Up?
What’s up everybody? Another month and another issue of the Your Life Is Your Story newsletter. Thanks for reading! Did you know that I am always interested and willing to hear from you and your requests or questions about life story work? All you have to do is reply to this email newsletter or contact me here. I look forward to hearing from you! Thank you so much for being part of the Your Life Is Your Story community. Thanks to all our subscribers. I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. You are receiving this e-zine because you signed up for it or someone who is subscribed passed it along to you. If a friend DID forward this to you consider subscribing by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine. – Tom Featured Article: Functional Family FunBy Tom GilbertPeople talk about how their families are dysfunctional. Often there is truth in that. However, I have found that there can be many instances of functionality. And let’s stress the fun in functionality. Functional family fun is something a lot of us can get behind. Doing things together as a family helps to strengthen bonds. Quite often in working with others on their life stories I discover how frequently families have had wonderful times together. It could be in outings such as picnics, sporting events, reunions or vacations. And sometimes these create very strong memories. Functional family fun involves engaging in shared, meaningful activities that build connection, encourage teamwork, and foster positive, supportive relationships. Those are the kinds of things I often found myself encouraging my students to do when I was an elementary school teacher. But they certainly apply to family units. Some key ideas include creative "tinkering" projects, nature exploration, and interactive, structured play. Have you ever made a tent in the living room or a bedroom? What about going outside to do a scavenger hunt? And there is always the timeless fun of a game of hide and seek or tag. Board games and putting together puzzles can also be good family activities that allow children and parents to bond together. Grandparents can get in on the fun too! I consider myself very blessed to have a family that gets along. Sure, sometimes there have been disagreements. But for the most part we love each other and like doing things together including dinners, concerts, and vacations. Is it all sunshine and rainbows? Let’s be real. No. There can be times when we are stressed out or upset at something someone said or did. But when you keep the lines of communication open then forgiveness, understanding and reconciliation is possible. Respect and Boundaries We all need our space. And we all need to consider the needs of others. Respect and boundaries help form better relationships. When there is dysfunction, take time to try and see where each family member is coming from. And support each other. Everyone struggles at times and not everyone opens up about it. Doing activities together and keeping the lines of communication open can help you have a healthy and functional family. Plus, you may be creating some lasting enjoyable memories for you and your family members which you can use in your memoir or life story. Read more articles here. Featured Resource: Author Connections to ReadersOnce an author has published a book it becomes important to develop ongoing connections with their readers. In fact, most of the publishing and marketing experts recommend that authors start to develop connections to readers and potential readers even ahead of publishing their book.Just how does one go about this? Great question and answers include everything from being part of writers’ circles and finding potential advance readers to developing an author profile through social media and having a website. Over the years I have been helping writers and authors in some of these areas. Most recently it has been collaborating with Janine Winters on her website and creating a newsletter list. You can see more of what I’ve done for her at Janine Winters–French Twists. We’ve tied into the title of her memoir, French Twists–A Tale of Travel, Testing and Triumph, by spotlighting her various interests in hydroponic farming, painting, cooking and family. She’s a pretty fascinating woman with an amazing life story. Of course if you are reading this you know that I have a newsletter, one that I’ve continuously published since 2003. I hope you find inspiration and ideas from the many issues. If you are a writer or author interested in finding more ways to connect to your readers I’d welcome the opportunity to connect with you. You can reply to this newsletter if you received it as an email or write to me at Contact Us. Closing InformationThat’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading. Here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think! Until next time, – keep your story alive! Tom Gilbert |
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