Dad’s mission is to say goodbye to his daughter with love and digital memories | The Canadian News

Ken Wimberly sat next to his daughter, Grace, and introduced her with a gift for their 12th grade graduation.

The father gave an iPad to his eldest daughter, but what was in it was the real gift.

“I had the great honor of gifting him 18 years of stories from his life,” said Wimberly.

“When he went to college, he took his iPad full of those memories.”

It was an emotional moment. Wimberly read a letter to his daughter, expressing what she meant to him and the two went through all their milestones together.

“It brought back memories he hadn’t thought of in so many years,” Wimberly said, “and so did I.”

The images, videos and brief moments in time were captured and stored in an application created by Wimberly in 2019, called Inherited journal.

The Legacy Journal journey began years earlier when Grace was a child. Wimberly wrote journal entries in a Word document, but keeping all the special moments organized was a struggle.

Like many other parents who use their phone to store countless images, Wimberly worried that those memories could easily get lost on a phone and lost over time.

“They don’t have to be big monumental things,” Wimberly said. “Sometimes the funny little things they’ll say or the experience that we connect with during a daddy-daughter dinner that we continue on to. Sharing those moments is invaluable for the future. “

Both Wimberly and her daughter have a copy of the digital diary; Wimberly continues to rise while Grace is in college. Now she is preparing Legacy Journals for her other two children.

Ethan Garr tried to keep a journal and put photos aside, but it took a long time.

“I could never come up with something that I could be consistent in,” Garr said. “Yes, journaling is very difficult!”

Garr began using the app to document, share, and connect with her 13-year-old daughter, Avery.

“I don’t want to forget these things,” Garr said.

“Having a daughter is the best thing in my life. If I knew I could have another daughter, I would, but I could have a son, ”Garr joked. “But the moments together are so great!”

No matter how many times you think you’re going to remember something, Garr added, they slip away and you lose that connection over time.

The father said that a simple caption on a picture is worth a thousand words. He called it the “optional word journal,” and while storing and building his vault of memories, he has been showing it to Avery.

“I like to share it with my daughter and let her see what I am doing, what moments were important to me and why.”

Building that connection with her only child is paramount, especially as Avery navigates her teens and is forced to deal with social media expectations and negative outside influences.

Garr said that all the things he can’t control “keep you up at night as a parent.

“But there are so many good things and the worst part would be letting those things slip away.”

That father-daughter relationship is one that Garr says has been strengthened thanks to the app. He wants to make sure Avery sees what he sees.

“My daughter, I find that I am one of the kindest souls I know.

“I just want her to always lean on that and think about how far it has taken her in life.”

It’s those kinds of ties that led Wimberly and the Legacy Journal app to seek advice for daughters’ daughters around the world.

A short video called The letter he poured out words of wisdom from parents: his message is universal.

The video showed a young woman getting on a bus and reading a letter from her father.

The collective voice tells young women to follow their dreams, stand up for their beliefs and learn how to change a tire.

“I feel like it’s very important that our daughters hear this today,” Wimberly said. “There is so much negativity out there.

“These words from parents are words of encouragement, words of affirmation, words of love. It’s okay to fail and it’s okay to explore for yourself and find out where you are going in this world. “

The parting words Wimberly shared with Grace that day that gave her more than 18 years of memories:

“The world is a better place because of you. I love you with all my heart.”

Garr added that by showing Avery pictures and short stories from their time together, she hoped it would give her the confidence to chart her own path in life.

“I’m lucky to be Avery’s father.”

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