Well, I’m back. It was a beautiful wedding and a delightful visit with Isaac’s family. In between the wedding and the reception, I snuck off with my aunt for a family history tour (what a good sport – I hadn’t spoken with her for years and years, then she got a call from my dad that I was nearby and would like to spend the afternoon with her).
I never knew any of my grandparents and I can barely connect names with faces when it comes to extended family, but oh how I’ve longed for those relationships! In three-hours’ time, my aunt was able to show me the home or business of two sets of great grandparents and one set of great great grandparents. We popped in for visits with 3 of my dad’s cousins (two of which are his ‘double cousins’ – his mom’s older sister married his dad’s older brother!). Oh how I wanted to latch onto their legs and beg to be their granddaughter! We only visited for a few minutes, but I was choked up at parting.
The most emotional part of the day was meeting my grandmother’s sister, Joyce. Currently 96, she was only one year older than my grandmother — they were very close. I learned that they shared a room in the attic of their home and were the same grade in school — their grandfather had donated the land for the one-room schoolhouse they attended. My grandparents met in school, and before they married, Joyce and my great uncle double-dated with them.
What a wealth — my goodness, where has she been all of my life? How come I never realized that she existed? Here was this woman before me who held so much of my family history in her heart – so many of the stories and memories I’ve longed for from a grandparent. I wish we’d met two decades ago and I had grabbed onto her leg back then — I’m sure she would have said, “Yes, I’ll be your grandmother!” Now, at her age, she’s fading, as are the memories of her time. I’m grateful to have met her and for that momentary glimpse of what my grandmother might have been like if she hadn’t passed four decades too early.
(Click here to read more about each photo — including one very sheepish memory)
how wonderful and special!
Welcome home. It’s nice to hear you had a wonderful trip and were able to make some long hoped for connections with family.
The B&W shots of the wagon and wheel have a poignance to them. The essence of a bygone era, I suppose. I’m sure all the pictures have poignance and meaning for you but those two really stood out.
I LOVE family history stories. My father was Navy so I didn’t get to live a lot around our family in NH though we’ve remained close. We’re moving to West Point, NY next year so we can finally be somewhat close to them for a bit. I love getting my grandfather started talking about our family and our itty bitty town that you’d miss if you blinked. It’s so awesome you got to meet your grandmother’s sister and share some time with your family.
it’s so great to hear you had a great time and learnt so much about your family! I love hearing about and seeing pictures of when my grandparents were young! We really all should get them to write things down before it’s too late! One of my Husband’s Aunts has put together a full family tree going well back to when the family came from England to Australia, it’s so great to look through! Oh and before I go, an invitation to visit my new website I launched Today!!!… http://www.madamebutterflygallery.com.au
What a nice trip. I love the photos. I’m glad you got to connect with family members.
That sheep story – so funny. Isn’t it intersting how we cherish the things we remember even if at face value the stories seem strange. I’m glad you were able to find a piece of your past.
What a wonderful experience! We have just recently been able to dig up some family history and it inspired my husband to start doing some audio recordings of grandparents’ stories in the hopes of preserving some of it. How very special that your aunt could take you to those places & people.
what a heartwarming story, family history is so important, as an adopted child I miss out on this so its so lovely to hear your joy in finding all this wounderful information.
Good to have you home, missed the posts.
SUzie (UK)
What a nice post. I hate to see history bulldozed in favor of a gas station.