failing relatives

I'm part of a generation that has moved about, as well as my parents.
So our roots are kind of stretched long and thin.
I think I've failed to have connections to the relatives I have.
So that's why I want to stitch together a family of ancient ancestors.

I found someone that was very dear to me the other day on Ancestry.  But I don't wish to put his life here, because he is still living, and is no longer in  my life.  And I really don't know much about his life or his family either.  He influenced me greatly for a while, and is now gone from my existence except as a fond memory.

I am amazed at how little I knew about the people I was related to in my parent's generation, or even the cousins of my own generation.  I don't even have their children's names, more often than not.  And now they are grown and I have no idea of their children's children's names.

So I confess to feeling like I'm fabricating relatives to replace the ones that I really have, but have lost touch with.

Maybe this is a sign of aging, to want some fabric that includes my own life woven with others.  Up till recently I was happy with friends to be that cloth of my life.  Mmm, they are certainly interesting, but I listen to them tell stories about their families, and I have none to share.

family gold

It's a matter of values.

Gold, pearls, glittery stuff for women to wear...nah.  I looked through my family pictures for a woman posed with such, and there wasn't a one.

So I finally decided what my family values is different than the meme at Sepia Saturday this week. (Click the link to see what others have come up with on this theme.)

I gather from the pictures of my family that these are the values we share: 

• Smiles.

• Cute babies.

• Loving groups that gather for various occasions (supposedly anyway, but it's the value that counts)

• Marking events in our lives.

• Nature's beauty, whether in flowers, scenery, or water shorelines.

•  Any combination of the above.  

OK, these are family heirlooms, and have been given to my heirs...a high school ring of my mothers from Jefferson High in San Antonio, and her step-father's wedding ring.  They aren't very valuable to anyone else, but they're gold at least!