My grandmother turned 90 last week. She’s a phenomenal, strong-willed, resilient, opinionated woman. I called and talked to her on her birthday, and, as always, she made me laugh. Mostly because of her opinions. I disagree with her often, but she still makes me laugh. Last week she told me that she’s not sure Hillary (Clinton) is going to make it, in the presidential race. Though she’s much smarter than George W., women weren’t made to be presidents. Men were made to take care of women…. !
Whether it was Grandma’s 90th birthday, or something else, the week before last I was moved by something I’m rarely moved by: Biblical geneology. They are considered boring, and generally I agree. So-and-so begat so-and-so… begat so-and-so… or, in today’s language, so-and-so the son (rarely the “daughter”) of so-and-so…. But a couple of weeks ago at our Wednesday evening Lenten service, I was moved by the passage about the geneology of Jesus.
I started to think about my own geneology. I don’t know alot. But what I do know is this:
I am Cathy, daughter of Dathene (pronounced DATH-a-nee), daughter of Ethel, daughter of Carrie May, daughter of Margaret Elizabeth…. Of course I know my mother, my grandmother, and I met my great-grandmother. I never met my great-great-grandmother Margaret Elizabeth… nor do I know much about her. But if her daughter, grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter were/are anything like her, she was fiesty, strong-willed, and didn’t give up easily.
And then I thought about my-our- future daughter. Being adopted, our daughter will be adopted into my geneology, and Jim’s geneology. But will she want to know more? Will she want to know who her biological mother, grandmother, etc. are? And if so, what do we tell her? I already have a return trip to China planned in my mind–when she’s old enough to appreciate it. But will that be enough? Will she learn the strong traits of our families by nature of being raised by us?
I hope so. And I hope that someday, _____, daughter of Cathy, daughter of Ethel, daughter of Carrie May, daughter of Margaret Elizabeth, etc… will be proud of her North American geneology.
