Heritage

Perhaps one of the best memorable times of my life happened this week. I love all things family. tradition. meaningful. passed down. My mom, sister and I did not have the privilege of knowing my Daddy's mom. Her name was Ruth Christine Petrey. I've seen pictures, she was beautiful. My sister is named after her. She passed away from Leukemia when my daddy was only 16 years old. I've only heard wonderful things about her. I so wish we could have met her. We are lucky enough to know her brother, my great Uncle Vernon. This week, Uncle Vernon took me, dad, mom and Josh to the old home place where they grew up. Dad had been there once. It is in the hills of Rockcastle County. and by hills, I mean you need a four-wheel drive to get there. We saw the bottoms that the kids used to work in hay. We saw where the old house used to be. It's no longer there but we tried to imagine it. The well where they carried water from is still there...covered in moss, dry and beautiful. The barn where they kept the animals was still standing. We saw where the garden used to be and visited family cemeteries. We heard stories of how things were back then. How each of the 10 (i think) kids had their own chores and how many slept in the same bed. How they had one shot gun and whoever woke up first that morning got to use it to go hunting. He told us so many stories about himself as a boy and he sounded like a pistol! I think he was probably a very fiesty young boy! The stories he told showed our familes heritage and exemplified their character. I can only imagine the amazing woman my Grandmother was, being raised with the same values as Uncle Vernon because he is an amazing man. It was such a wonderful experience. One of the neatest things....my dad doesn't have anything of his moms. While we were there, he took one of the old rocks near where the house used to be. Maybe she played on that rock one time. I will never forget this day, this experience.
No one we knew, but a very unique headstone. I liked it. And homemade.