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In my multicultural Music Therapy class we had to do a heritage assessment, and I ran into a question that stumped me: "Where were your grandparents born?" My paternal grandfather was born in Kerens Texas, and my paternal grandmother was born in Rochcester, New York. (Her family moved to Dallas because her father, a seed salesman, fell in love with the city) My maternal grandparents were born...?
There's a reason for this. My mother was not a stable individual. At age 3 she kidnapped me, so contact with her ceased at that point, and contact with that side of my family was sporadic from that point on. While my great aunt and uncle lived locally I had some contact, but after my great aunt Edna's death things got a bit less regular on that front. The rest of my mother's family was scattered across the state, mostly in the southern reaches.
So, I got on the phone, called my cousin who still lives in my great aunt and uncle's house, and got some information, then reestablished contact with my mother's mother, (thankfully still living) and one of my aunts.
My grandmother on my mother's side was born in Elkhart Texas. She is related to Abraham Lincoln, and some of her ancestors fought in the revolutionary war. My Maternal grandfather was born in a small town in louisiana. He was half German, half French. (Surprise there, I didn't know I had any French in my background) He's descended from the first doctor sent to Louisiana from France.
I spoke with my brother, who was seriously down on himself because we let so long go by without contacting them. I told him that regret is a wasted emotion, because it alwas deals with the past, which is immutable, and that he should concern himself with what he's doing now and tomorrow. I'm going to try to get him past his case of self recrimination and get him to plan a trip down there with his son so that my grandmother (the last surviving one I'm blood related to, though I do still have a step grandmother) can see her great grandson.
There's a reason for this. My mother was not a stable individual. At age 3 she kidnapped me, so contact with her ceased at that point, and contact with that side of my family was sporadic from that point on. While my great aunt and uncle lived locally I had some contact, but after my great aunt Edna's death things got a bit less regular on that front. The rest of my mother's family was scattered across the state, mostly in the southern reaches.
So, I got on the phone, called my cousin who still lives in my great aunt and uncle's house, and got some information, then reestablished contact with my mother's mother, (thankfully still living) and one of my aunts.
My grandmother on my mother's side was born in Elkhart Texas. She is related to Abraham Lincoln, and some of her ancestors fought in the revolutionary war. My Maternal grandfather was born in a small town in louisiana. He was half German, half French. (Surprise there, I didn't know I had any French in my background) He's descended from the first doctor sent to Louisiana from France.
I spoke with my brother, who was seriously down on himself because we let so long go by without contacting them. I told him that regret is a wasted emotion, because it alwas deals with the past, which is immutable, and that he should concern himself with what he's doing now and tomorrow. I'm going to try to get him past his case of self recrimination and get him to plan a trip down there with his son so that my grandmother (the last surviving one I'm blood related to, though I do still have a step grandmother) can see her great grandson.
