Ah yes, the tradition that many of us growing up had to endure. The annual/bi-annual visit with relatives that includes the infamous "Home Movies" and/or "Slide Show"....
I recently endured two such visits. Full of awkward moments and sad realizations.
But something interesting did come up as a result. Memories of a farm, far from where I currently live. And a family who have been friends with ours for half a century or more. In the foothills of Bavaria, a family who's owned land for generations runs a small farm. As a young girl, I visited that magical place during a lengthy family trip to see where my Father's side was from.
The farm had a barn full of cows, who I spent hours with. Feeding them handfuls of hay when not distracted by chasing the big green grasshoppers that too were enjoying the roughage. I can still faintly remember the sounds and smells in that barn. And the big pink noses shoved into their troughs.... munching away.
I just found it fascinating that my exposure to such things happened so early. And it's sort of nice to know that the "farm bug" existed in a way, on my Father's side as well as my Mother's. My Mother's being more something I was aware of however. Her and her sisters (my two Aunts) grew up on farms after they immigrated from Denmark, they used to share random stories, like the one of the partially blind horse only my one Aunt could ride or even go near without risk of serious injury.
It's a shame my two Aunts don't communicate with me anymore. Ever since they had their falling out with my Mother. I'm sure they'd have plenty of stories of their time on the Farm, that maybe weren't worth repeating to me as a child...
One day maybe I'll ask my Father where his family's roots are... how far back they go... and if there were any farmers. It'd be interesting to find out.
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