I delight in knowing the past.

This is me and my dearest Aunt Frances.

Now Aunt Frances isn't really my aunt...she is my Grandpa's aunt. That makes her my great great aunt! But she deserves the double 'great' in more ways than one! She's 98 years old but she might not like that I told you that.

Frances and I have always been besties since my great grandmothers funeral. She and her brother sat on the couch all night with me sandwiched between them and kept me company at the first viewing I had ever attended. We talked about glitter make up...I was 10.

Today upon finding myself in her neck of the woods I stopped in for a visit and I learned SO much about my family history. More than just names and dates but stories of my progenitors that would be lost if she hadn't shared what she did with me today.

I learned how my great grandparents met (something their children don't really know). I learned how they got some money that made them not super poor for the first time in their lives. I learned what they liked to do to spend time together. I learned how important education was to them and how hard they worked and sacrificed so that all their children could have that opportunity. I learned the sacrifices they made to take care of my great grandmothers younger siblings after her parents died. I learned about their baking traditions, their singing traditions, and their work ethic.

What they taught their children continues to be passed down. Some of the things that were important to them that they taught to their children, my parents have in turn taught me (e.g. love of gardening, love for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, love for learning, love and duty to family).

Knowing the past changes the way we view ourselves and the future. Our influence can affect generations.

Learning these stories of the past has made me appreciate the righteous traditions they began and these ideals, such as higher education, that have become family staples. Hard work, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and