Sample Family Story
From Lillian, age 84
“Every
summer my grandmother, my mother’s mother, came to visit us for two weeks. It
was our favorite time, because Grandma loved to sit in the rocker on the front
porch and tell us stories. This was during The Depression. We lived on a farm
in Mississippi and had no radio, so we were always looking for ways to entertain
ourselves.
Grandma was a tiny little woman and always wore long black dresses and little
black bonnets, the same way she dressed in the 1890s. One time someone gave her
a more modern hat but she never wore it. She said she did not recognize herself
in it.
Grandma lived through the Civil War! Those were our favorite stories,
especially the one about the Union Captain and the horse. One time, the Union
Army camped close to her family’s farm. The Captain in charge confiscated their
only horse. Grandma was just a teenage girl, but she had spunk.
That
evening she went to the camp and demanded that the Captain return the horse.
The Captain did, because he said anyone who had that much courage deserved to
have the horse back. One of the other soldiers told her that when the war was
over, he would come back and marry her, but of course he did not.
She
married Grandpa, who had been wounded in the Battle of Franklin. He died in the
1890s so we never knew him. That was why Grandma always wore black, to honor
his memory. That is what women did in those days.”
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A Memoir From Karen...Co-Founder of Golden
Legacies. The 4th
of July has always been one of my favorite
holidays.
As a kid growing up in Memphis, the 4th
meant dazzling backyard displays with sparklers,
and attending the "Orphans Picnic" at the St.
Peter Home For Children. I loved the simple
carnival games where I could win prizes like a
ceramic cat or a "finger pull." As an adult,
I've enjoyed preparing 4th of July
feasts of oven-fried chicken, herbed potato
salad, and homemade blackberry cobbler, then
watching a neighborhood parade with toddlers on
tricycles, and friendly dogs sporting red,
white, and blue bandanas.
Last year, Steven
and I loaded up on fireworks and gleefully,
playfully, spent the long 4th of July
weekend shooting them off from our deck
overlooking the Cumberland River! What fun!
Despite the soaring
temperatures that make my feet swell, summer as
a whole suits me: lake swimming, moonlight
picnics, gardens full of orange daylilies, my
kitchen garden fragrant with the scent of dill,
mint, and basil, homemade ice cream, preferably
peach or vanilla, baseball on the radio to
remind me of my beloved grandfather, daylight
till 9 p.m., the soothing sounds of kids playing
outdoors, and wearing sandals every day to show
off my red toenails!
Summer feels free.
It feels expansive, limitless, and powerful like
the ocean on a hot July day. It feels playful
and lighthearted, and very much in the moment,
like a lazy afternoon swim. It feels connected
to others through shared meals, games, or just
sitting in the backyard chatting or shooting
fireworks into the river!
In fact, summer
really feels like Me. The Soul essence of my
self and your self that is always free.
Happy Summer!
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