Things I forget to remember
Weirdly enough, I've been called on to write two autobiographical papers in this last semester at school. I have only done a little work on the larger of the two papers, but the smaller one is triggered some ruminations. It's supposed to be "an autobiographical narrative on the topic of aging" (followed by a "literary analysis of that narrative"). I chose to write about my grandpa, who died when I was a senior in high school. (Yeah, it's that freaky story I love to tell about how my aunt and grandpa both died within a few hours of each other even though they were several hundred miles apart - and on my and my aunt's birthday, to top it all off.)
It's just gotten me thinking about things. How you remember people a certain way. That I remember what a feisty old crank my grandpa was in those last years. But writing this also helped me realize that he never treated me like a child in terms of intelligent conversation. He, my grandma, and my mom always included me in their conversations and let me contribute, too. I wonder if this is a rare thing? I've seen so many adults who ignore kids and teenagers. Maybe this is why I love working with kids. Because they're not just 'kids' to me. They have things to say that are relevant and important regardless of their age.
And I just wanted to post this picture. It's a snapshot of my grandparents and their two daughters. I wish I could remember what I said to get them all laughing like that!
