The Memories We Keep: Why Preserving Family Traditions Matters

Some memories stay vivid, even when the details fade.

There’s a dish my grandmother used to make when I was growing up. A simple pudding made from gourds, cooked over an open fire, mixed with maize meal and just enough sugar to make anyone forget its humble beginnings.

I remember the taste. I remember the warmth. I remember the feeling of being cherished and nourished. What I don’t remember, and never wrote down, is the recipe. My mother doesn’t remember it.

It’s a small thing, but it bothers me more than I ever expected it to. Not just because the dish was extraordinary, but because it was ours; a thread in the fabric of my childhood that I can’t pass on to my own children.

When you’re building a family of your own, these details suddenly matter. You begin to notice the small rituals, the pieces of family history you wish you had protected, the ordinary scraps of life that take on new meaning with time. These are the things that ground us. The things that shape belonging.

And that, truly, is why I created our printed mount boards. Not for décor. Not for trends.

But for these quiet fragments of family life: the handwritten recipes, the notes from relatives, the childhood drawings, the little remnants of memory that deserve somewhere better than a dusty drawer.

A mount board becomes more than a frame; it becomes a keeper of stories. A way to honour the traditions you want to protect and the legacy you hope to pass on. Whether you’re framing a handwritten family recipe, a letter from a grandparent, or a photograph you never want forgotten, it becomes an heirloom in the making.

If you still have these pieces, keep them. Write them down. Frame them. Give them a place in your home where they can live and be loved, not lost.

As for my grandmother’s recipe, I’ll continue asking my mother every few months until she finally agrees to call a far-flung relative who might have it tucked away somewhere. If it resurfaces, you can bet I’ll frame it the same day.

Because some memories are worth holding onto, with great intention.