It’s Day 20 of Writing Our Stories
Some of you have sent me the stories you’ve been writing and that makes me happy. I love knowing that you are preserving your stories – for yourself, for family, for possible publication. Writing connects us, and I’m delighted that you’re doing something that is rewarding for you.
So, today. Our prompt today is: an “adopted” family member.
Who has come into your life in a way that makes them feel like family? Maybe it’s a beloved pet. Maybe it’s an old family friend that gets invited to Thanksgiving every year? Who has been added, in one way or another, to your family?
Today’s photograph is from 1981. It’s of Christmas at my Pawnee Rock home. I’m sitting on the couch with my mom, but our focus of attention here is the man in front. Fred. Fred married my widowed grandmother in 1977. My grandmother died in her sleep a few months later. But here it is, 1981, and Fred is still a satellite family member, invited to Christmas.
I can’t say that I really got to know Fred. These were my college years; I was away from home, doing college-age things. But if I were to write about Fred, this stranger who was married to my grandmother for about two months, here are some things I’d write about:
* Fred, in his 80s, liked to prove how limber he was so he’d show us by doing handstands out in our yard.
* Fred took on a job to dismantle an old wooden grain elevator.
* He moved into the high-rise in Great Bend after my grandmother passed and I visited him there a couple of times. One day he was excited to show me that he had learned how to sew. He made a man’s button-down shirt. NOT AN EASY TASK, I will say, a pointed collar, inset sleeves, buttonholes. He was wearing it and it looked pretty good.
Who will you write about? Who has dropped into your life, become part of your family?
I’m looking forward to reading your stories.
Go get ‘em! Cheryl
Visit my website: cherylunruh.com
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