I am more than me... discovering my past

 My great grandma and grandpa's graves.

 

 My great, great, great grandpa's grave.

(My cousin and uncle also in the picture)

 



 Grandma and grandpa's grave.



 The view from the cemetery.

 

 

I took a trip up to northern Idaho this weekend. The Blewett side of my family was having a big family reunion and my dad asked if I would go represent our family. It's been 25 years since I have been up to this part of the country. I didn't grow up seeing my grandparents or my cousins so needless to say, I never really knew much about the Blewetts.

I arrived Friday night just in time for dinner with the clan. My grandpa Pierce Blewett was one of 14 brothers and sisters, so the number of cousins gathered together for dinner seemed countless. As I sat down at the table with my uncle and other cousins that I had never met before, one older man leaned over and said, "You look a lot like your dad... but I also see so much of your grandpa in you... you remind me of Pierce." I looked the old man straight in the face and smiled as I held back the tears and said, "Thank you. I would love to learn as much as I can about my grandpa." I never really knew my grandpa. He died shortly after I was born, but in that moment I realized that I am made up of so much more than myself. The old man continued on, "Well, Pierce was really good with youth. He had a way of talking to youth... growing up I looked up to him a lot." I smiled again and thought, perhaps I have more of Pierce in me than I ever could have known.

The rest of the weekend I heard plenty of stories about how the Blewetts settled into the Lewiston/Culdesac area. I got to visit the gravesites of my grandparents, great grandparents, and great, great, great grandfather and I got to see the land that they called home. Beautiful country!

As I drove home, I reflected back on the quick 24 hours and I think the thing that I was most reminded of on this trip is that I am made up of so much more than myself. I am a little bit of each of my family...

 

I am

a teacher,

good with youth,

a believer in Jesus,

stubborn,

light hearted,

adventurous,

and a hard worker

because it is in my blood;

passed down from generation to generation.

I am not just Sheila.

I am a little Pat, Jana, Dick, Janette, Pierce, Grace, John, Lilly May and it continues on...

I am not just me and the older I get, the more I appreciate that.

 

In the last few weeks I have learned so much about my family (the good and bad) and have been blessed to have some quality time with family... so the question that lingers in my mind and heart is this.... what does family mean to you?

A Menacing Dog

Running.

I hate it.

Yet, for some reason I got this crazy idea to go for a jog.
In South Carolina.
In the heat and humidity.

You know those times where you feel restless and you know you need to do something or your mind might go a little crazy? Like you just need to get up off the couch or get out of the house and just do or be but you aren't quite sure what to do or who to be. It was that feeling that lead me to go for a run. (Did I mention in the heat and humidity?)

I laced up my tennis shoes, plugged my ears with Taylor Swift and hit the road running. To be honest, the first 15 minutes or so was not so bad. I found a tolerable stride and the change of scenery felt energizing.  I felt so good that I even considered how I might have given jogging a bad rap. As I rounded the corner to come back up the street, I realized why jogging felt so nice. I was running down hill the entire time. Suddenly, as I struggled to run up the darn hill, running reverted back to this hate relationship in my mind. I was not a fan. I pushed forward for a few more minutes, but I quickly ran out of stamina and slowed to a walk. Just as I caught my breath, I looked over my shoulder to find a dog running towards me. This was not a nice, fluffy looking dog. Nope, it was a mean, "I'm going to tackle you" looking dog. And yes, there I was running again.

In the midst of running from this menacing dog, it came to mind that just a few seconds earlier I thought I could not run anymore and so I gave up. I simply stopped. Yet, there I was. Running. I was doing exactly what I thought I couldn't do. It's not like the running magically got easier. Running was still hard, but it wasn't unbearable. It took effort and focus, but I was capable.

I just needed a little reminder: keep going. You are stronger. Don't give up. You can do it.

And I could. And I did.

As I sat down on the front steps of the porch, feeling accomplished, I wondered how many times in my life I quit when I could of kept on going. And then I wondered how many times I kept on going when I should have quit. But isn't that life; all the "what ifs" and instead of getting a little crazy over them, I simply remember the moment where a menacing dog chased after me and I remember:

Keep going. You are stronger. Don't give up. You can do it.

Beautifuls

Hi Friends,

As you can see, it has been too long since I have written. I have been so good at sticking to my goals  with this blog until now....

A week ago I jumped on a plane and flew 2, 262 miles to visit my new nephew, Zeek, and my sister and brother-in-law.  REFRESHING!

Growing up, my sister and I never got along and I am sure my parents often wondered if we would ever be friends. Now we are all grown up and things are very different. She has a little boy who is a bubble of laughter and overall, she and I have things to talk about. We have been together a week now and a fight has not yet occurred, although I have probably just jinxed us. It is a beautiful thing when we grow and change and learn to appreciate the things and people we never did as kids.

In making this blog short, I will get to the point:

BEAUTIFUL:

Vacation

the ocean

baby Zeek

baby Zeek laughing

sister friendship

a brother-in-law that tells dumb jokes

a mom and dad that love unconditionally  

In short, those are the beautifuls in my life right now, what are the beautifuls in yours?

Bye for now,

S