“How does the wider family celebrate them?”

Why this question

The birthday phone calls, their artwork on someone else's fridge, the way their name comes up when you're not there.

Capturing it in voice

• ·If they're old enough, hand them the phone and let them answer it themselves. Their phrasing is the treasure; don't tidy it.
• ·Don't script it. The ums, the tangents, the half-finished sentences — that's what their voice actually sounds like right now.
• ·Thirty seconds is plenty. A short answer you actually record beats a long one you keep meaning to.

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