It is mid-November; school is starting to come to an end for this semester (woohoo!!!), Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the countdown of me returning to Alberta for Christmas is on!!! Just thinking of being around family and friends, good times and laughter, creating new memories and pictures is going to be my biggest strength to get through these next couple of weeks. So all this being said, a couple of weekends ago (again, I am totally slacking on keeping this blasted thing updated), Kalyn and I decided to hit the National Museum of American History. It was a pretty kick ass place to go check out (http://americanhistory.si.edu/) and deciding to go to that Museum was a conundrum as originally we were supposed to go see the Air and Space Museum, but then I wasn't really feeling all 'air and space-like', so then we were going to check out the Museum of Natural History, but when I was watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, I decided I wanted to see the Sesame Street characters, but they weren't on exhibition anywhere, so basically when we got to the Museum Map, I did the classic close-the-eyes-spin-spin-spin-and-point move and we found ourselves heading towards the American History Museum. 
Walking through it, Kalyn and I talked about our grandparents and the different way of life and it just got me thinking about all the family events that I have gone too, all the stories sitting around tables or campfires and all the memories I have about my own family and how, if it will be any different, generations from now will think back to this era. With it being Thanksgiving in a couple of weekends, I figured having a family posting would be the best thing right now. Also, with the passing of my Godmother, it has made me a little nostalgic of family members that have left us and the ones who are still around. So, as I take you back through memories and pictures (lots of pictures), you will see some music links, if you want to enrich your experience all the more!!! So first song: get up and dance if you feel like it
My uncle and aunt suited each other to a T (yes, a capital T). I remember the story of my uncle lighting their house on fire when he was little: when he was a little kid, he liked to play with matches (perfectly normal - did not turn into a pyro thankfully) And he would blow the match out and then throw them down the hole in the wall of the bathroom (not exactly sure what the hole was for). Well one of the matches was still hot enough to catch the tissues on fire and eventually the fire department was called as was grandpa who passed the fire truck on his way there. Apparently my uncle never got into any real trouble for almost burning he house down, which surprises me as Grandpa apparently enjoyed putting his hot pipe against the back of an ear just to watch them jump and squeal, just for kicks. But then again, maybe that is where my uncle got his fascination for hotness/fire/burning from..... As for my aunt, she was crazy, like craaaaaaazy, about Halloween. When I lived with them, the first time I remember walking through the front door and not knowing about this side of a very gentle, soft spoken, innocent seeming aunt of mine was almost obsessed with Halloween and seeing skeletons, pumpkins, witches, all things associated with Halloween everywhere. It honestly threw me for a loop. 
A huge family tradition of ours, and it is something that I look forward to all the time, is playing cards. My gramps got me hooked on crib; I never could beat him for some reason, but there was a time that I did beat him and he got all pouty and grumpy and accused me of cheating!!! There were many times that he and I would be playing crib while Grandma was sitting there, watching her Blue Jays play and get mad at us for speaking over the game. Whenever my one sister and I get together, we play crib - I use the word 'play' kind of loosely as it is more like I have to reteach her how the play the game hahaha. Also, my stepmother and I play crib quite a lot and it sounds like it is a hunting tradition between my brother, his wife, my dad and stepmom. It is something that is just woven into us, and it makes sense as it is something that our parents did. Not only do we play crib, but lately, and I don't remember who got us on this kick, but for the past couple of Christmas', we have been playing Uno like it is going out of style. When the Uno cards get broken out, it is mayhem as laughter, shouting, cameras and memories are involved. 
Next song is a doozey so watch out folks: warning: may cause tears. The memories I have of my Grandpa's are both vague and clear all at once. My one grandpa, I don't really remember him before he had his stroke. However, there are a couple of things that always make me remember him: first, itchiban - this was his meal of choice for lunches. And he made it so much better than I ever have, I don't know what his trick was as it is just noodles and water. I also would like to think that the part of me that wants to work in forensic hospitals is because of him - he used to be a psych nurse at Souris Valley and Dad would tell me stories about being at the hospital and seeing all the mental patients and their behaviors; I like thinking that when I feel like I am struggling through this part of my life, Gramps is up there, just watching me, cheering me on. He was probably one of the most gentle and patient man I have ever know. Now, as for my other Grandpa, I got his stubbornness, his love for cards and as I get older, his crying gene. He was both a strong and soft man; patient when teaching me crib, but such a sore loser when I would rarely beat him. One game he actually quit playing because I got a 26 hand, and he was so sure that I had cheated hahaha. He would play so dirty though - until I knew the rule, if I shuffled the cards more than 3 times, he would say I lost my turn. When Grandpa smiled, it was such a childish smile that it warmed your insides. And when he cried, I do not know anybody except for my brother who would not get tears in their eyes when they saw that. I love knowing that I have a little bit of both Grandpa's in me that makes me have the drive and determination I have today. 
Now, each man has to have an equally, or better, other half. Enter, the grandmothers, the rocks of the family and this song embodies them perfectly: they are *the* women. I would love to say that I got my mom's moms classic beauty, but alas, I didn't. I got my dad's mom's moms hips....hahaha. And boobs. And curly hair. However, I didn't get her baking skills. I didn't get any baking skills. Oh, I digress. All of that aside, I tend to think I am my dad's mom: sarcastic, stubborn, bingo-lover, card lover and reader. I will always remember her in her hair curlers, sitting at the kitchen table. And that green rooster - I need to somehow tell her that I want the rooster when she, sadly and unfortunately, passes away. That rooster is a part of my childhood. But going to her house, I would just read so much while there and she always had new books by the time we visited again. She had 4 boys, my dad obviously being one of them, and kudos to her for putting up with my uncles all the time. I could only imagine her yelling at them all the time to take whatever they were doing outside hahaha. And then there is my mother's mom: quiet, reserved, regal-like; my oldest sister got most of Grandma I think. I couldn't imagine Grandma raising her voice at her children, all freaking 14 of them. She was so into her looks, a quality I did not pick up from her at all) it was pretty funny. One of the last reunions, she didn't like her glasses for the pictures, so I lent her mine hahaha. And the purple sweater that she had that she was worried she didn't look good in, that woman had class and style (not saying my other grandma didn't have style because I am way more like her in clothing hahaha).
Looking at the two of them and trying to realize what it must have been like to raise their children in a time where there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and making the best out of their situation makes them by far the most bravest and strongest women I have met (probably a little crazy at times). My dad told the story of growing up with no indoor plumbing: no running water, bathroom in an outhouse, having baths in galvanized tubs in the kitchen from boiled water from the outside hand pump. And then came the day that they got indoor plumbing - the excitement of flushing a toiler or turning a tap to get instantly hot water (the picture is the expression I could see my dad having back when he was younger and seeing a toilet flush hahaha). For those women, my grandmothers, to make sure their children got the best life they could in the situations there were in basically tops any trials or tribulations people have nowadays in living - oh nos, the Internet connection is down, my 5th tv doesn't have satellite cable. I think it really hit home for me when we had the hurricane warning as I got candles out and used the hurricane lamp candle holder thingy (probably not the technical term) that Aunty Sylvia got me and when I was trying to figure out what I would do if my power went out and I lost my laptop power, or my cellphone went down, it probably would have been a very calming (yet panicking) feeling to just sit there and read by candlelight. It made me think about how much stuff we take for granted nowadays.
Being so far away from my family, and not having the ability to just decide 'hey, this weekend I think I am going to go home and see my family' has been the hardest adjustment of all. I get pangs of homesickness and with the wonderful technology of Skype, I can see them basically whenever I want to, it just isn't the same as sitting in the living room with them, or having supper with them (oh my goodness I can't wait for home cooked meals) and just being home again. Some of my fondest family memories is just when we are all sitting around, being ourselves, talking, laughing and being with one another.
From my great grandma's hips to my uncle's smile to my mother's voice, I am my history, I am my family and I am my own legacy.
Life can't get any better when you realize how much you love your family.
And so I leave you with a link to one of my most favorite songs ever, I hope you enjoy:
I love and miss you all!!!!
And so I leave you with a link to one of my most favorite songs ever, I hope you enjoy:
I love and miss you all!!!!
