Last week after the US elections, blogging dad Matthew la Plant (dearspike.com) took some time out to write to his daughter about the profound significance of Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the US (check out his post here). I guess for Matt it was (is) really one of those moments where history is made and he chose to share it with his daughter in a unique way. Way to go!

It got me thinking what other moments I would have chosen to write to my son about some profound event (in my world/opinion) that just happened. The Berlin wall coming down? Y2K? 9/11? Flight of the Conchords on HBO? For those of us writing diaries, blogs or journals (or capture their thoughts in another way) these events are probably documented anyway. For everyone else, it's a great idea to take a moment and reflect when something extraordinary happens. I think it's an amazing personal gift to pass on to the next generation. Like the "I was there" story.

I remember just before Y2K the shops were selling time capsules everywhere ... it's a bit like that really. The idea was to put some key objects into the capsule and bury it in the garden somewhere. Although I haven't done it myself (since I tend to move around A LOT) it must be really cool to dig it up on some special day for your children ... like their 18th birthday. Maybe you don't even need to bury stuff - an attic would probably do the job as well. I wonder if people still have attic's where old stuff is kept or does it all end up on eBay these days. Perhaps our blogs end up as virtual attics - who knows. Either way - what an inspiring initiative by Matt. "Write it down - pass it on!" - I like it.

-Stef

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