Family Legacy

Mark and I both had family members pass away rather suddenly this past weekend. And while these family members had lived long full lives, the grief is still real. As we were processing, I was reminded of a post I wrote for Naptime Diaries about the lessons of family. We are both so blessed by the stories of the family that has come before us, the lessons they have shared, and the legacy they leave with us. I hope you enjoy the post below. (originally posted here, December 2011)  

Hi! My name is Shannon from The Scribble Pad. I am thrilled to be here on Naptime Diaries. I am a wife and momma but first and formost, a daughter of Christ. I am so glad to be here sharing with you all, and hope to continue to see you all around blog-land and maybe even real life!

My Grandmothers

My grandmom was a florist and a gardener. As a little girl, I would sit in her shop and watch as she magically arranged flowers. We would wake up early on the weekend and ride to churches to decorate for weddings, me in the back of the van holding the buckets from tipping over. It is with my grandmother that I began to travel. She hosted all of the family parties. From her I gained my taste for all things savory, strong cheeses, the benefits of wine, and my appreciation of fresh seafood.

grandmom holding me, my son makes this very same face!

My Yia-yia taught me our family favorite recipes. To this day, I cannot bake a cake, but I can spend days making Greek pastries and feel her next to me as I pour the butter and roll the phyllo dough. I can make these by heart, feeling for the measurements but still insist on reading her scrawl, half in English, half in Greek, and measured in mug-fulls. As I dance around our apartment with Behr, it is because this is what Yia-yia did with us, we sang, and danced, and laughed.

Yia-yia when we were making baklava for my wedding.

And then another grandmother came into my life. My cousin’s grandmother. She asked me about books, taught me about letter writing, and gave me my first calligraphy pen when I was just in elementary school.

Fast forward 20+ years and here I am, doing calligraphy and coordinating weddings, sending 200+ Christmas cards each year, and opening my etsy shop of hand-stamped note cards, so you too can share the joy of letter writing with those you love. Even up until a few years ago, I never would have imagined how significantly all three of these women would have impacted my life.

As I have plunged into motherhood, I am reminded of my own mother. I cannot even begin to name the ways she has and continues to bless me and teach me. But what I am most grateful for is that she allowed these three strong women, my “grandmothers,” to come along side her and help.

She didn’t always agree with everything they said or did; I know this now. But she guarded me from any animosity. She let these women come into my life and mold and shape me.

It is not always easy to let others impact your children. I wrestle with this daily. But I am reminded by the incredible impact that others can have. And so I pray that our family is surrounded by the blessings that helped raise me.

Thanks so much for reading my story.

If you want to chat about this or other journeys of motherhood, feel free to contact me.