Some Knots in the Family Tree

I enjoy researching family history and genealogy.  So when our 12 year old son was given a school assignment to trace his family tree, I thought he might catch the bug. Not to be. He was fine tracing back to the grandparents on each side and we helped him identify his great-grandparents. It was a well designed exercise in writing a research paper, including making an outline and doing research and conducting interviews. He did a great job. 

Part of the assignment was to include a description of his parents and grandparents. We generally view ourselves more favorably than might be warranted and take little care over others’ opinions of us. But when it comes from your own child, well ... revealing.   Here's the story - unredacted.

"My dad has some pretty distinguishing features. He has thick glasses, a slender build [editor note: a long while ago] and dark hair.  He is good at tennis, volleyball and slo-pitch softball.  He's good at math and loves to read. He works for Control Data and develops computer programs. He doesn't like to work if he doesn't have to. He loves coffee in the morning but he makes me plug it in because he doesn't want to get up.

My mom has gray hair in the front.  She has bad teeth because she ate too much candy when she was a kid.  She makes real good meals when she's in the mood, otherwise we have toast and milk. She's good at pulling teeth.

But I still love them and they still love me.

My mom & dad met in high school.  They had a few dates and were good friends. They went to a couple plays at the University of Minnesota, Morris. My mom had other boy friends and my dad liked other girls too.  My my went to Seattle to work. My dad stayed in Minnesota to finish college.  My mom came back and worked at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  She and my dad got married. Then they moved to Bozeman, MT where I was born.

My mom's parents live on a farm. She has two brothers and two sisters and they all had about the same amount of work to do - which was a lot. My grandma and grandpa were firm but loving. My mom had no allowance. They had a TV but the only stations were in the Twin Cities, 160 miles away, so they didn't get very good reception. They listened to the radio a lot. The farm has a 1/2 mile driveway and the school had a dress code so it was very cold walk for them in the winter. The bus ride was also very long. The thing mom hated the most was something that had to do with chickens.

My dad lived in a small town. He had about the same amount of work as his sister. He also did not get an allowance. When he wanted money he asked for it. His hobby was collecting baseball cards. He had a big drawer full. His school was a four room schoolhouse, with 2 grades in each room. The thing my dad hated worst was digging ditches. His grandfather said he didn't need machinery when he had kids to do the work.

My grandpa Glenn is very smart.  He uses a very large vocabulary. He loves his rose garden and concerts at Orchestra Hall. He is a hard worker and often takes a nap on the floor with no pillow at all.  Grandma H. is also very nice. She bakes good brownies and always bakes them when she knows we are coming to visit. She likes having us come.  She makes big meals even when it's not Thanksgiving. She is a nice grandma.

Grandpa Tim goes out of his way to help other people.  He loves to visit and he's funny. He gets a farmer tan every summer.  He has large strong hands. He has a fun farm to roam around in. Grandma R  has white hair and makes the best pie.  She has a soft voice and the only time I could imagine her mad would be at Lester the bull. She's a nice grandma.

The greatest thing about my grandparents is that they all love me a lot and I love them a lot."

The End

[Editor note: I apparently became more accomplished over the years - good at 3 sports.  When in first grade and asked what his father was good at, the only thing he could come up with was "being quiet in the library".]

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin