founder's week

it's founder's week at warner pacific college.  when the flier came in the mail, i noticed my great-uncle's photo highlighted next to the schedule of events.  he looked a lot like my grandma, or rather i could see my grandmother's features reflected in his.  so, i got out the copy of his autobiography, "of time and tides" by a.f. gray and started reading it.

looking for what we have in common, i smiled at the picture of him as an old, wise man sitting on a rock by the pacific ocean.  he described enjoying feeling his smallness in comparison to the ocean's vastness, a feeling that draws me to the coast as well.

he wrote songs and poetry, both things that i enjoy.  i realized in a new way that we are not born in a vacuum, i came from these people.  and i had a sudden urge for this legacy not to end with me.

i got my grandpa griffin's favorite hat out of attic storage and put on the locket containing my smith grandparents' wedding anniversary photo. 

even though i chose to attend a different university, i am proud of my heritage and of the fact that we support a memorial scholarship at warner in honor of my grandma.  i like sharing in the tapestry of values and beliefs that ground me to something bigger than myself and wonder how i might pass those on to the next generation.

what are some things you really appreciate about who you came from?