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My motherThese things are so important to me because I know so little about these people. I know my grandmother was a small but tough woman who went through a lot. Her husband was put in jail leaving her with small children to raise in the Ukraine during the famine. I know she lost a child very young (my mothers twin) and I know she trekked across countries trying to bring her children to someplace safe. I know she liked to garden and she was an amazing cook. I know she was a devote Orthodox woman who held strong beliefs. I know she had more children when she remarried. Thats about it.
I know even less about my paternal grandparents. I know they came over on a boat and settled in coal mining country in PA. I know he was a hard worker and had a large family. Thats about it.
I never heard many stories of when my parents were young. My father would tell a few but my mother was too hurt from her hard childhood. I think many times if I would have just stopped and listened a little more carefully. Now that I am a parent I want these stories to pass along to my children. I want them to understand their history, to be a part of something bigger then themselves.
So I write this to remind people to take the time and learn about your loved ones before their gone. Ask them the tough questions. Make them tell you a story about when they were younger. And when they do, stop and listen. Really listen. You will not regret it.
Oh, and Mom, you will be getting badgered a lot more for that family history I have been asking for. Love you!
First I want to say, "HOW DID YOU A PIC OF MOM SMILING?" I know how you feel, I asked Mom about my father, all she said was we didn't talk much because he was sick. They were married for about 10 years! They never talked? I tried Anstery.com, usless. Heather said my parents were aliens, from outer space. LOL Heather got me a book to fill out. I pull it out once in awhile, and jot something in it.
ReplyDeleteHi Tania,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you were still interested in the red and white fabric swap. I did a post for all swappers who didn't receive an email from me. There was no email address attached to your comment on the sign up post, so I thought I would try here. If you could get back to me as soon as possible...that would be great.
Thanks,
Karen
I have often thought it would be great if all students had an assignment I had back in middle or high school...to record an interview with any or all of our grandparents about their impressionable years growing up and then perform some research correlating to the time and sum it up in writing. If a student didn't have any living grandparents, they could seek out some willing seniors in their neighborhood or at a nearby retirement home. Today, I think the latter would serve a dual purpose...so may folks sit in retirement homes and they think kids don't care about how life was in the early 20th Century and society isn't as authentic with so much technology consuming our lives. An additional ongoing pursuit of kids would be to interview some diverse ethnic seniors because, as our world is transforming from an information society to a knowledge society, it will be these authentic historical perspectives that need to be preserved and compared when these kids study history and decipher the complexity of worldviews...I'm worried, with today's biased 24/7 news cycle and deep cuts in education, that kids will lack the critical reasoning skills in the adult lives to adequately analyze rhetoric and discourse.
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