I am a baby boomer who grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. My mother and father both came from large families, so I had several pairs of aunts and uncles. I knew both sets of grandparents and had them in my life for my early years.
I am the oldest of three children. I had several cousins and much of my family’s social life centered on family gatherings in each other’s homes. We celebrated every holiday together with potlucks, picnics, and birthday cakes.
My favorite part of each of these gatherings was the evening. I was the second oldest of the group of eight cousins who gathered most often. As evening came, the younger cousins went to bed while the adults did adult things. Adult things included playing cards, drinking a beer or two, and telling stories. No TV, no cell phones, no personal devices of any kind.
The stories were remembrances of days and events they were happy to share and recount. Most were joyful tales. There were many laughs and, I expect, some exaggerations.
The best part for me was to be able to “stay up”. Staying up, meant I got to listen to the stories. The stories I heard were a verbal history of the events that formed our extended family. Over the years I have retold these tales and added several of my own.
As my own children have grown I realize that a family’s “story” is its legacy for future generations. This blog is an attempt to retell these stories so that others may share a laugh, gain some insight, and discover that each of us and our experiences should be celebrated. While I expect most entries will be associated with my seventy years, I hope to share some insight through the stories I recall from “staying up”.
Looking forward to them. You remember things I did not know.