I’ve been thinking about my grandma a lot over the last couple of weeks. I miss talking to her every Sunday, and it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. Lately, I’ve found myself talking to her here and there like she’s standing right next to me. She obviously isn’t responding or partaking in the conversations, but I like to believe she can hear me.
Sometimes when I’m saying my prayers at night, I’ll be praying about something and think, “Grandma, if you want to give God a little nudge on that, I wouldn’t mind.” And I’m sure she would, too lol.
Maybe a week or so after she passed, I remembered I made a “family tree” video in my AP US History class when I was in high school. For the project, we had to interview three family members and ask them a series of questions about growing up in the time period they did, and what they remembered about big events like 9/11, the Kennedy Assassination, or any of the wars that have gone on during their lifetime. I knew I had interviewed both my grandma and my grandpa for the video, so I thought it would be kind of cool if I could find it and watch it with my parents.
My dad was able to find the CD with the video on it, so we watched it together and it brought back so many wonderful memories. I interviewed both of them in their old house in Sioux Falls, and it was exactly how I remembered them growing up. There were laughs shared, as well as many serious moments as my grandma remembered how she felt during those scary times I mentioned above.
My grandpa has been gone for 12 years now, so it was really nice to see him again. He mostly talked about his experience in the Korean War in the video, and towards the end, he told me he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m sure it was hard to relive some of those memories, but I’m glad he was willing to share some of them with me. It was definitely interesting to hear about it from someone who actually experienced it, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for what those people went through.
I interviewed my dad as the third person in the video and as soon as he popped up on screen, my dad goes, “Oh, my gosh! I still have red hair in this! I look GOOD.” He’s pretty funny!! Even though my dad is still around – and hopefully still will be for a very long time – I’m glad I have this video now to look back on and remember details about his life as well as his parents.
At the time of making the video, I remember being slightly annoyed at how long it was going to take to prepare the assignment. Now, I really appreciate having this video to look back on. Both of my grandparents are gone now, and this is a piece of their history I can hold onto forever. And it allows me to remember them the way they were when I was growing up, and not how they were in their final moments.
We are so lucky to have the technology we have today, that we have ways of preserving memories like this. I encourage you to take advantage of that. Live in the moment too, but take opportunities to record and document memories. It’s all the more meaningful when loved ones are gone.
I also wanted to share that some friends of mine sent me a plant for my grandma last week. It’s very similar to the one I have in my office from my grandpa’s funeral. So, now I have one for each of them. They’re both keeping an eye on me. 🙂
Hug your loved ones, y’all!
Until next time! 🙂
Megan Nelson