I have been fortunate to see many things tied to important events from the start of the US. Among others, I've seen a real copy of the Declaration of Independence and tallies of the votes done before its acceptance. I've visited Philadelphia and seen Constitution Hall where the Declaration was adopted. I've been to Boston and seen the harbor where they had the Boston Tea party. In Baltimore, I saw the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner. And I've visited the homes of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, all key players in our early days.
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| source Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. |
But among all of these amazing visits, there is one that stood out more than the others. Ward and I were visiting Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington. We went with Ward's parents, Leo and Syl, who lived nearby but hadn't visited in years. The weather was nice and we were enjoying the various buildings and gardens when we decided to tour the house. We went through the first part of the tour and were waiting on the wide front porch that faces the Potomac to get into the next part.
We were chatting about this and that when Syl said, "This is where I got my citizenship." (His mother was from Guatemala and came to college here where she met Ward's dad.) What? Right here? I had never heard this story and neither had Ward. She had actually stood on the porch right where we were and got sworn in as a US citizen. Leo said that Ward was little and he had him out on the lawn trying to keep him quiet and out of trouble while his mother said her oath. So as we were learning about an early part of our country's history, we also learned about early part of Ward's history. Soon after that, Ward's mother became sick and died several months later. We felt lucky that we got to share the memories of this important event with her.
So today, as I remember our forefathers and the start of our country, I think about Syl and others like her who also got a new beginning here. I am fortunate to live in a country where this is possible.
Cool! American history and family history at the same place! We don't have anything that exciting in our family
ReplyDeleteWell, I had to marry into it.
DeleteThat's a really nice story, which really illustrates the importance of sharing one's experiences with their children and grandchildren before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Sometimes a person has to get older before they appreciate all of the stories, but it's important to share them all the same. I try to make sure that my boys hear stories about all of their relatives.
DeleteWhat a great story. I love history, especially when there is a personal touch added to it.
ReplyDeleteI know you love history and I agree, the personal touch makes it all that more meaningful. It's also been good that we can show our kids where their grandmother became a citizen as well as learn a lot about George Washington.
DeleteI love that story! My dad & stepmom are getting up in years, so each time I see them, I'm trying to make a point of getting them to tell me their stories. So happy you got to hear that one!
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about recording them as part of the Story Corps (https://storycorps.org/)project? I was going to have my kids do that with my mother, but waited too long. She's not really in shape to do something like that now.
DeleteGosh... I've never heard of story corps before, what an interesting idea. I'm not sure how that would go over though - they might feel uncomfortable about it. It's funny, my dad is full of "important things" he wants to write about - all of his ideas on how to save the world, but he never seems to realize that the most valuable stuff he has to share are his own personal experiences.
DeleteGood luck. Whether or not you record them in a formal way, I hope he continues to share about himself.
DeleteWhat a sweet story and I bet Ward was happy to find out where his mother took her oath before she passed away.
ReplyDeleteWe were both happy to hear the story and we took our kids back so they could see the spot that was very important in their history too.
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