Ducks In A Tub

Taking life's adventures one day at a time.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

A Family Legacy worth Repeating

I recently had the privilege of being present at a landmark event. My great grandmother turned 100 years old. And she is still pretty independent, believe it or not. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the family all got together. Well, not everyone was there, but those who were able to attend added up to about 150 people. Pretty big, huh?

My Great Grandma T is the family matriarch. She is my mother’s maternal grandmother. Or, another way, my mother’s mother’s mother. This great woman and her husband of almost 60 years (my great grandfather passed away about 20 years ago) started their very own empire of descendants. They have 4 children, 31 grandchildren, 84 great grandchildren, and (at last count) 28 great-great grandchildren --- with more on the way! Add in spouses, step children, and significant others and you can imagine what a crowd showed up to celebrate the event of the century.

I have never met so many complete strangers that are my blood relatives! While I was growing up we pretty much stuck to the closer family (like most people do, I think). We would see my parents’ siblings and their children, and maybe a great aunt or great uncle at Easter or Christmas. The “family” celebrations never reached beyond to second or third cousins. It was quite mind-boggling to meet my mother’s cousins and their children, then “do the math” (so to speak) about what our relationship is. Better yet, what their relationship to my children is. I think we got as far as my fourth cousins, which would be my children’s fifth cousins, if you can believe it!

Yes, I even got a picture of me and my husband, our kids, my mother, my grandmother, and the lady of honor my great grandmother. Five generations in one place at one time.
At one point I was approached by one of my mother’s cousins. I had written my maiden name on my name tag so that people would know which part of the family I belonged to. This particular cousin, however, had not seen my mom since she was 10 years old and he did not know her married name (my maiden name). He said, with a smile, that he would only know me by my mother’s maiden name because that is how he remembers her. Wow! Talk about family you haven’t seen in a while.

We all exist because of the love between Great Grandma and Great Grandpa T. They started their own thread of life which we continue and pass on to the next generation. Imagine all the lives that have been affected, the new lives created, and the deeds accomplished. I am proud to be part of such an amazing legacy!
P.S. For those of you who are waiting with baited breath for the next chapter in the Saga of my complicated life, you will have a wait a little longer for the next installment. "Chapter 4: The House" will not be completed until next week...at least, I hope that's when it ends...it is out of my control, but trust me the story will be well worth the wait!

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3 Comments:

  • At 5:07 PM, Blogger BeachMama said…

    That is awesome, at 100 your GG is looking fabulous. We just celebrated a 104th birthday this summer, remarkably this woman is not related to us, but we kind of adopted her as our Grandmother, she had no children!

     
  • At 7:54 AM, Blogger Holly Schwendiman said…

    That is so awesome! I was just trying to explain to my daughter last night what "posterity" means and how it grows with each generation. Thanks for dropping by my website today and commenting - your kiddos are adorable!

    Hugs,
    Holly
    Holly's Corner

     
  • At 9:38 PM, Blogger Mayberry said…

    Wow, you are all very lucky to have her (I know you know that).

     

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