I had the opportunity to go to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee for the first time this weekend and can I just say, it was as good as I hoped it would be. If you have never had the opportunity to attend, sit back and let me describe it for you.

It’s that time again. The tents are empty, the memories are fresh and we are feeling gratitude in our hearts, so some thank yous are in order.

There are many benefits to having a professional storyteller visit your school. Storytelling helps students develop listening skills. Stories are the building blocks of imagination, stories teach character, and storytelling can foster the desire to read independently.

A couple days ago I was listening to a story by Dolores Hydock called Occam’s Razor on the radio program The Apple Seed . The story is about how blessed she was after her mother’s diagnosis of cancer. It really struck home with me because we had recently dealt with the death of a loved one due to cancer and had also felt the blessings in disguise that had come from that experience. Even though our family has lost a beloved grandfather, we know that he can live on in the stories that we pass along to our children and grandchildren. Writing those stories down and retelling them orally is an important part of keeping his legacy alive.