keeping a memoir

I'm "that" woman, who likes to keep lists and notes.   I'm also "that" woman who has to buy the keepsake memoir books at Barnes & Noble.    You know the ones.   They're full of questions/lists and you fill out all the private little details?   I bought one for 2 of my good friends, for their 30th birthdays.  I thought they were a unique gift; something that no one else would have given them.  I was right.  They loved the idea and were excited to start on them.  
No one really thinks about those things, at least not like my corny self.

 I've got all of the record/keepsake books pictured below.    I haven't filled them out completely, of course.  I imagine not everyone does fill them out in their entirety right away.  It might take a lifetime, in some cases.  Especially if there are milestones to be told of; marriage, babies, grand babies.
   I think I have one other one that isn't pictured.    

I honestly think that we should all have at least one of these memoir books, in our lifetime.

I really wanted to get my mom one, well before she got sick, so that we would have it in the years to come.  Like a keepsake.   With her having grandchildren, I thought it would be something precious for them to see in time.   Then, when Mom was terminal, even though I thought about it even more, I didn't think it was a great idea to bring it up to her, or to just buy her one.    I didn't want to freak her out.   She'd already had trouble with her diagnosis etc.   But some days I wish I had just picked one up.  I think she would've liked to start one. When my mom first passed away, I was so eager to find a letter that she'd written or some other memoir.    If I'd only thought ahead, I could have given her one of these books for a birthday or Mother's Day.  

I guess I like the idea of these records books, so much, because I want to leave my story.   We all have a story.  Some good, some bad, some are a little of both.   But, the bottom line is that we have one.   So, why not tell it?   I guess it's much the same as penning your life story, from scratch, but these memoir books kind of give you a guide, with the questions and scenarios all laid out for you.  
It conjures up so many memories and events in your life ....