| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 10:17:28 AM
I attended the service this morning for my fil's mother who'd been suffering from alzheimers for the last few years. She was 90 years old, and had lived a full, wonderful life....
The eulogy got me thinking (because I'm ALWAYS thinking!)...one of her 7 sons spoke, and mentioned that the church we were sitting in, St. Mary's Church built in 1900, and the neighborhood 2 blocks away where she was born and later bought a home after marrying, was the rock of their family, but moreso, the foundation in which his mother built their family. She attended gradeschool at St. Mary's, was christened there, confirmed there, married there, attended daily mass there, served as treasurer of the PTA--all 9 of her children were christened, confirmed, attended school and were married there, and now she was being laid to rest there, in that same beautiful sanctuary where the priest held her to douse her little head as an infant.
I knew her so briefly, but I marvel at the "roots" she had extended--her childhood to adulthood in the same neighborhood--all that time spent at her church home. The same women in attendance at her funeral today were some of the same faces in her 3rd grade class photo. It made me think that probably, very few of us have these deep roots that older generations have and had. Why is that do you think?
I was simulatenously charmed and saddened by what I learned from the service. I feel such disconnect in the way we live in today's society, and I doubt I'm the only one. I think that's why we all flock to this Mary Janes Farm site, really, seeking a similar kindred connection--to be "neighbors" and girlfriends, even if it's across the miles or through a monitor screen.
Any thoughts?
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Amie C. |
Posted - May 18 2009 : 06:33:58 AM
I'm physically in the same neighborhood where my family (on my dad's side at least) has lived since the 1920s. But the community has changed so much over the years (mostly during my lifetime) that this actually makes me feel sad and disconnected. None of the changes are for the better.
The other side of the past is that for a while there each generation moved farther and farther west, and parents and children might never see each other again after the children married and left. I've always been shocked by this fact, but in some ways I can see how it's actually easier to remember your home the way it was rather than being there to watch its decline.
Jeez, sorry. This sounds totally depressing. But there's truth in it so I'm going to post it anyway. |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 6:14:04 PM
I know what you mean. I would love for my whole family to all live near each other. I really miss the Thanksgivings when I was young when all the aunts and uncles and all my cousins got together at my grandparents house. We had so much fun. I have not seen my cousins on my mom's side in years. That's sad to me because we were all so close. But we grew up, got married, moved to other places and had families. Times change.
On my dad's side we had a family letter that started way before my dad was even born. It probably started in the very early 1900's. I still have my dad's original copies and now I have my uncles who just passed away. I love reading them. His family was very close.
Now I am here and my brother and sister are in Col. My parents are in S. Ga. Cousins all over the country. But we are having our family reunion in July so I'll get to see all the cousins then.
I probably got way off the topic, but I love talking about my family.
I love how you described the funeral and the deep roots she had. That is very rare these days.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 1:52:32 PM
Alee has a good point--it is SO much easier to get around now...but I also remember that my Great Grandmother, Dodie, never seemed to want to leave little old Park Street in Grove City, Ohio, where she settled in 1918. Her mom lived up the street, and two of her daughters lived 3 doors down after they were old enough to marry. She went to visit the other daughter in Florida one time in 1964, but other than that, she stayed right in the little shotgun house that she and Herman bought in 1918 (it was already 80 years old then!).
I always felt sad that we DIDN'T live on Park Street like my other cousins, Grandmother and Aunts and Uncles--a bit jealous of the time they got to spend together, and today, I'm still an outsider. My mother and her sister were the only ones to move away and never come back except to visit, and as a result, we don't really "know" one another. And now, that my grandmother(s) have passed on, I think I crave those roots more now than ever.
Yes, it's true that some families just don't get along--divorce really wasn't much of a factor until the 1950's or so, so it could be that as well. Split families, job markets, etc...
I am so happy that Violet has 3 grandma's and 1 Great Grandmother living, within a 15 mile radius of our little house. And countless friends and cousins to boot. She already spends her weeks with her grandmothers, so the roots are already entwining, Alee :)
Just something I was thinking on...
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| CountryBorn |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 1:39:36 PM
It does make you feel that the families were so much more intertwined with each other doesn't it? I think families relied on each other a lot more back in the early 1900's and before. Alee I feel you are right too.It was not as easy to get around then as now and so many seem to want to be anywhere but where they are nowadays. I always feel a certain saddness that the extended families aren't anywhere near as close as they used to be. I loved to hear my Grandma tell me all about the life she lived back then she was born in 1889. I fully realize that not all families are that nice and many people have very good reasons for wanting to clear out and move away and on to a better life. I guess that I have always loved the idea of belonging to a family and neighborhood like that.
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
| Alee |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 1:10:00 PM
I think that with all the relatively new ways to travel (my has the world changed in the last 100 years!) that people have more of a tendancy to stretch out and spread the families out. Of course there are families that stay put and put down the roots... It really is interesting! I think a lot of us here on the forum crave those roots and because of that craving, perhaps we are building some of that into our families. Maybe little Vi will feel like she has roots, Jonni! :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 11:16:39 AM
Thanks, Pam...I will wholeheartedly agree with your statement...very well said, yourself!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| AuntPammy |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 10:51:24 AM
Well said. The kindred lives that our foremothers and fathers led were so connected.We miss alot of that in our busy lives of today. Blessings for you and your family at this time of loss.
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you will never see the shadow." Helen Keller
www.auntpsalmostheaven.blogspot.com |
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