the stories of our families - the aggregate of ours and our predecessors' experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and accomplishments - are the raw materials from which our own identities are hewn ...
my uncle's laundry dry cleaning circa 60s, staten island, ny
big grandaddy forwardthinking ::
ever think about being a grandparent?
- it's really foward thinking
honestly i would like to just skip having my own kids and enjoy being a grandaddy. all the blessings and none of the headaches. walks in the park. teaching them to play ball and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. *sigh*
the way our culture works today many may not ever get to be true grandparents. the average age for marriage has leapt into the 30s which means we'll be having children probably 10-15 years later than our parents. by the time our children will have children we'll truly be miserly old people perhaps with little energy or sanity to share with them.
i think some of our most valuable resources are our grandparents or just plain old folk. they're not treasured and are often hidden away. some of the saddest places i visit are senior citizen homes. how many of us have actually spent time getting to know them and their life experiences. i love sitting with some of them and asking all sorts of questions and seeing the light return to their frail bodies.
i don't have any grandparents left now. well i've inherited two new ones through marriage and i love them dearly. but my true blood grandfolk i love and miss. i learned so much about life through them. they loved me an awful lot, spoiled me and took a major part in raising me while my parents worked.
here's one memorable story about my childhood. i was 7 and already knew how to cuss up a storm. my granpa would sometimes pick me up from afterschool. i was feeling really rebellious one time. thinking my grandpa didn't really know english i backtalked him using all sorts of expletives. later that night. i was called downstairs for a family gathering. i walked into the family room by myself and to my suprise before a council of my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and yes my granpa. it was like he was the don sitting in the grandchair with everyone standing around him. i was humbled and disciplined. i wished for a non-asian family that night and begged for a bar of soap to wash out my mouth. it was all in the family.
i even knew my great-grandma who died when i was around 10. family history and values are so precious. i'm really thankful that i know the stories of how my family lived up to three generations ago. it helps shape my values and sense of purpsoe for my life and my own children.
apparently both of my grandmothers were xians who loved going to church but couldn't go anymore in their old age because no one could bring them. it's amazing how many grandmothers are integral in passing on a spiritual heritage. some without even being very vocal in their faith but silently praying into the night. i used to think my granma talked to herself alot but after i became a xian it all made sense, she was just praying. dunno what she prayed exactly but i know she prayed for our family constantly.
i don't want to be so old that i can't play, joke, laugh, and storytell. i think we rob future generations of helping them connect with the past and see how they fit into the larger picture. i look foward to the time where i can bless my children's children, snuggle with them and share about all the amazing works and power of God in our family's history. all the triumphs and all the darkest valleys. all to his glory.
posted by affectionate @ 12/05/2003 08:51:00 AM
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