Then there are things that I want handed down because I think they're nifty—part of what makes us us. There's the grandmother who skied to teach at her one-room school house in northern Michigan 100 years ago. There's the other grandma waking up from a dream that her son was knocking at the front door saying, "Let me in, Ma, I'm so cold" at the exact time that he was treading water in the ocean due to his plane being shot down by the enemy. There are mysteries about name changes and temporary disappearances. There are stories about how people got through the Great Depression and the less-advertised side of the 1950s.
That is nifty and worth sharing.
My Cousin Toni taped a long interview with my grandmother before she died, and I have it. It's full of fascinating stories about growing up in the midwest in the early 20th century.
I have many questions that will never be answered. The answers died with my parents.
We lost so much when my mom died. My dad was better about sharing his stories, but there’s so much we’ll just never know.
I know that some of my mom's cousins were abandoned by their parents in the Great Depression and sort of had to raise themselves while bouncing among different homes, but I know no details about what caused it or what became of the parents.
I passed on a story or two from Dad's childhood shenanigans to his younger siblings, who'd never been told. By the time they were around and able to remember things, the brick-throwing fights and digging pit traps for the mailman were things of the past.
I know I’m missing (and/or misremembering) quite a lot of family history, but also none of us have kids so it’ll die with this generation anyway? Bummer, but then a lot of the history was bummer too (orphans and mental illness and alcoholism, oh my!). So…yeah. I find it fascinating, but we tried getting my dad one of those “tell us stories” books and he ended up talking about some dude he met in his small town who was an announcer for his favorite baseball team, which I’m sure was cool for him but wasn’t really what we were looking for!
That with the passing of generations you either open up about those secrets or all that history/context becomes lost.
I have many questions that will never be answered. The answers died with my parents.
This is what I'm finding now, well with my mom & her sisters. My mother's 2 oldest sisters were 10 & 12 years older than her, so had more stories, but lived far enough away (everyone married sailors, but my dad was the only one that stayed in San Diego) that there weren't many gatherings. My mom's dad died (WWII) when she was only 4 months old, so we have zero contact with that side of the family. My cousin (daughter of my mom's closest sister, only 18 months older than her) and I occasionally tell each other stories. Last month she got to hear for the first time about our moms being sent to an orphanage after Grandpa was killed because their mom couldn't manage 2 daughters under 2 (the 2 older ones apparently went to relatives for a while). My mother was almost adopted, but their mother insisted that they stay together and apparently the couple who wanted the blond ringleted infant didn't want a brunette toddler with her. The only remaining sibling is a half-sister about 7 years younger than my mom. She tries to stay close with us (as best she can from Michigan), but she's so much younger she has more questions than answers herself.
Timelies all!
askye, the doctors at the hospital thought Mr. S was on the spectrum, but we don't have a formal diagnosis.(We're on the waiting list for a full neuropsychological workup.)
One of my co-workers tested positive for COVID, so those of us who were in the lab last week went to get tested. My results came back already, and it was negative.
Sheryl, I'm glad you tested negative.
ltc is at dance camp this week. These are her first dance classes, and she's having a great time. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the freedom of having my house to myself.
Getting divorced in the 30s in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was already shocking, so the family thinks maybe they were “together” long before anyone knew.
My dad's side of the family lived in the UP from the 1890s through 1990. (The Iron Mountain and Marquette areas.) Maybe our families knew each other.
