The Gift That Lasts Generations

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Hope everyone is having a fabulous New Year!

 

After dinner this Christmas, we collected our chairs in the living room and sat in a circle. Yes, the food coma was sinking in, but it was present time. Grandma promptly handed each family member a package; all looked strikingly similar. On the count of three, we all tore into our square package. Each one of us was holding a binder. Inside the binder was our family lineage, dating back to 1535. A pretty incredible gift, if I do say so myself.

 

I quickly dug into the binder, reading it from back to front, spending my time reading about my grandparents and great-grandparents. Then it hit me, the family tree on the last page had my aunt, dad and uncle, along with their significant others and children. Both my mom and my cousin’s mom had a deceased date next to their name. “Thank sucks”, I thought to myself, while I held my tears in.

 

I have said it before, and I will say it again; life is uncertain. The gift my grandma shared with us on Christmas is irreplaceable. If you are not sure of your family history, sit down with the ones you love and ask questions. Who was your great-great-grandfather? Where is your family originally from? When did they migrate, or did they migrate? What types of jobs did they work, languages they speak or hobbies they mastered? You never know when the time will come that someone will not be around to answer those questions.