Two Kings
Somehow, who knows how, the boys and I got on the topic of where their relatives are from. “Poland!” said C. Which, yes, both my parent’s relatives. I’m less sure about my mother-in-law’s side, but I then asked them if they knew about Grandpy’s family.
Grandpy’s family…
…so I’ve heard…
…comes from European ROYALTY.
Boys, you might be related to kings.
Imagine for a minute how 8 and 6 year old boys, who already live like certified kings in our home mind you, took this news. Imagine that. And then multiply it.
Once the celebration settled, I told them the only person who knows these details is Grandma Kay. Their sweet, 90+ year old great grandma (Grandpy’s mom). No one knows the details like sharp minded, family historian, Grandma Kay. And what happens when she dies?
I’m really resisting hard to get on a mid-blog post soap box about how vital it is to record your family history. If you don’t, it’s gone. If you assume there’s nothing to record, you’ll never know what there might have been once people started talking and remembering.
Anyway. The boys got the message loud and clear. If they want to know for sure, we need to connect with Grandma Kay, and now. So we wrote her a letter together.
Cam signs it with a question: “Am I King Cam?”
Adrian draws a picture of a smiley face wearing a crown.
Cam runs to the mailbox to put the letter in. He typically brings the mail in when he comes home from school each day. “When a letter from Grandma Kay shows up in our mailbox, I’m RUNNING inside and tearing it open before any of you can stop me!” he says.
“Do you think she’ll send jewels!?” Adrian asks.
The joy of listening to kids daydream about having a royal bloodline.
My hope that if Grandma Kay can’t remember, or if this is family lore, that she just lies and tells them they are royalty anyway.
Grandma Kay would never lie about that, though.
A handful of days later, a letter arrives from Grandma Kay. And of course, the boys are out of town with my in-laws when it arrives. So I let this envelope sit on our kitchen counter, and whew does it take willpower not to open it myself!
The boys got home tonight, and Cam couldn't wait to tear open the envelope. Inside is a card, with A LOT of writing. Slanted cursive, it’s tough to read, so I read it to him.
The first two lines: Dear Dana and King Cam and King Adrian. Yes, you have Kings in your family tree.
Oh blog reader, if you could picture the child joy of dreaming about being a king before, you simply cannot picture the CONFIRMATION of this news.
We now have several Scottish kings to Google, a lot to read, and a lot more questions for Grandma Kay. What a hoot.
I end this story on the soap box I failed to resist stepping on. Everyone has a fascinating story SOMEWHERE in their family tree. Maybe it’s not eons ago, or from someone you never knew in a country you’ve never been to. Maybe it’s what life was like when astronauts first landed on the moon, or when schools were segregated. TALK to your family members. If not for your own curiosity, then at least for your kids.
Signed,
Blogging Princess (by marriage)
Grandpy’s family…
…so I’ve heard…
…comes from European ROYALTY.
Boys, you might be related to kings.
Imagine for a minute how 8 and 6 year old boys, who already live like certified kings in our home mind you, took this news. Imagine that. And then multiply it.
Once the celebration settled, I told them the only person who knows these details is Grandma Kay. Their sweet, 90+ year old great grandma (Grandpy’s mom). No one knows the details like sharp minded, family historian, Grandma Kay. And what happens when she dies?
I’m really resisting hard to get on a mid-blog post soap box about how vital it is to record your family history. If you don’t, it’s gone. If you assume there’s nothing to record, you’ll never know what there might have been once people started talking and remembering.
Anyway. The boys got the message loud and clear. If they want to know for sure, we need to connect with Grandma Kay, and now. So we wrote her a letter together.
Cam signs it with a question: “Am I King Cam?”
Adrian draws a picture of a smiley face wearing a crown.
Cam runs to the mailbox to put the letter in. He typically brings the mail in when he comes home from school each day. “When a letter from Grandma Kay shows up in our mailbox, I’m RUNNING inside and tearing it open before any of you can stop me!” he says.
“Do you think she’ll send jewels!?” Adrian asks.
The joy of listening to kids daydream about having a royal bloodline.
My hope that if Grandma Kay can’t remember, or if this is family lore, that she just lies and tells them they are royalty anyway.
Grandma Kay would never lie about that, though.
A handful of days later, a letter arrives from Grandma Kay. And of course, the boys are out of town with my in-laws when it arrives. So I let this envelope sit on our kitchen counter, and whew does it take willpower not to open it myself!
The boys got home tonight, and Cam couldn't wait to tear open the envelope. Inside is a card, with A LOT of writing. Slanted cursive, it’s tough to read, so I read it to him.
The first two lines: Dear Dana and King Cam and King Adrian. Yes, you have Kings in your family tree.
Oh blog reader, if you could picture the child joy of dreaming about being a king before, you simply cannot picture the CONFIRMATION of this news.
We now have several Scottish kings to Google, a lot to read, and a lot more questions for Grandma Kay. What a hoot.
I end this story on the soap box I failed to resist stepping on. Everyone has a fascinating story SOMEWHERE in their family tree. Maybe it’s not eons ago, or from someone you never knew in a country you’ve never been to. Maybe it’s what life was like when astronauts first landed on the moon, or when schools were segregated. TALK to your family members. If not for your own curiosity, then at least for your kids.
Signed,
Blogging Princess (by marriage)