Writing, Reading, Reflection

It’s been days since I updated. Lots of reasons, but the main one is that I’m trying desperately to finish my family history before schools starts. I met with my grandma and her first cousin, Mildred, this past week to gather some stories. It was fantastic. Mildred is 89 years old and has the best memory, as does my grandma who is almost 80. I can only hope I have a memory half as good as they have! There are only a handful of this generation left, and both my grandma and Mildred are the oldest. The information they have in their heads is invaluable to finishing my family history. On top of it, they have great photos. I stumbled across one that I’ve been praying to find. It’s of a woman named Arminda. She was born in the mid 1840’s and died at 97 years old. The photo was taken when she was 97, just weeks before she died, to commemorate the birth of the fifth generation. The photo includes Arminda, her daughter Annie, her granddaughter Emma, great grandson Otto and great great grandson. It’s the most incredible picture. Then, on the way home from finding this treasure, I had more photos in my post office box sent from California.

Needless to say, with these wonderful finds, I’ve been camped out at my dining room table, writing, writing, writing. So, if you need a writing prompt today, call the oldest living relative you know and ask them to tell you a story about their life. When I did this with my grandma, I got numerous stories. The best one was about the day her little brother was bit by a copperhead on their way to school. These kinds of stories take us to another time and place. They make us appreciate where we are now, too.

Now, to create a wonderful piece of art out of the photos that fell into my hands this week. I’m so excited.