Musings of an 87 year old man
Recently, my maternal grand-father gave me a document titled “Musings of an 87 year old man”. A hand-written sticky-note gave the preface: “This is not intended to be profound, just casual musings.”
I read the musings and was touched by the perspective and reflections he’d written down. I asked him if he would mind if I shared it with others, and he was flattered, and agreed. Here are his musings.
Shakespeare once wrote:
All the world is but a stage.
The men and women on it are only actors.
Each makes his entry.
Plays his part,
And takes his leave.As I ponder these words I realize my position in this drama. My age gives me a rare perspective of the parts my ancestors and descendants have played and are playing. I have watched six generations.
My grandmonther died when I was only 12 but I knew her well and knew full well the part she played.
My father and mother played the latter portions of their parts providing for and shaping my sister and me.
[My wife] and I have had 67 great years in nurturing our home and our 5 wonderful children into adulthood and into playing their own part.
My 5 children are now playing their parts while raising children of their own. Several of their children are now adults and have taken their own roles.
Four of my six grand children are now adultsand are playingtheir roles while guiding their children toward future roles.
My four Great Grand children have yet to enter the stage but are being tutored for a proper entry one day.
As the years scroll by on these six generations Shakespeare’s words come into focus as to where each generation fits. It is inevitable!
I see many of the older generations traits following through to the latter ones. Particularly I see strong family ties, a hard work ethic, and a very strong moral and religious base. The older generations may not have had automatic washing machines but I can see the similarity of roots and sprouts in the people I know and have known.
It is with a great satisfaction that I see these younger generations lined up to play their parts and can accept my part in the drama.
With the recent death of my paternal grand-father, I’ve been thinking a lot about how our roles in the world fit with each other. Contrasted with my life, which at times can feel over-burdened, it is refreshing to know that there will come a time when those burdens will be passed as responsibilities on to others. My grand-father is enjoying his final years (he’s still in very good health at 87, and could easily live another decade or more) but he’s aware that his time on this stage is drawing to a close. I’m very proud to be among the players who will take his role in continuing this great production.
My grand-parents invited us to dinner this past weekend, and we had a chance to talk about his musings. We noted that my children may have an opportunity to know 7 generations since they’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with their great-grand parents. Hopefully they’ll get to know their own great-grand children. It is even possible that my grand-father’s oldest great-grand child (Chelsea) could have a child in his lifetime (though I’m sure her mother would throw a fit if it were any time soon). It’s unlikely that the child would have memories of its great-great-grand parents because of age and distance, but it would definitely be an interesting novelty for our family.
