Key to the Future

Having my computer totally crash this summer stirred a need inside me to backup all family photos in more than one place.  I had backed up my computer files in May of this year, so all was not lost.  However, the trip to the shore and the family reunion are now memories without proof.  So, I began to look through old digital photos on my external hard drive from up to 10 years.  What a wonderful trip through memory lane!  It was then that I found this one:

This is my daughter during our trip to Washington, DC for Continental Congress, 2008.  I could not resist snapping a photo of her at this spot…the same spot in which I have my photo taken in my “gown of white” each year.  She looks so small (as she should because she is 7 years old here).  She has so many years ahead of her to make a difference in the world.  If I ask her if she wants to join the DAR someday, she often responds with “Is it even an option, Mom?”  She knows how important this organization is to me and will honor her mother with membership just as I had done.  My thoughts turn to 50 years from now when I will no longer be an active member.  What will our organization be like?  Will Daughters still be driving to honor God, Home, and Country?  Will making a positive influence in our communities be just as important to our members?    Will my daughter or granddaughter be involved in historic preservation, patriotism, and education?  It makes me realize that our younger members are really the key to the future of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Too many chapters rely on the same people to do the same jobs, thinking the younger members are ‘too busy’ with their lives to help.  …but if we don’t involve our Junior members, our chapters or even our organization may not survive.  For those who truly believe in this organization, this is a sobering thought.  What can be done?  Start by inviting the younger members to become active by paging at a state event.  This is where they gain the friendships that keep them committed to the organization.  Ask any page that is a ‘return customer’.  Some of your best friends come from this experience – lifelong friends.  Every member who has done this is glad that someone invited her to page and be active.  These are the women who are the future of the DAR.  As long as we continue to train our younger members, our great work can continue to be done.  What will you do to ensure that your granddaughter has a thriving chapter to which she may belong?

And don’t worry, my daughter is right.  It is NOT an option.