Tim Urban, on his Wait but Why blog wrote a very interesting article about how we all seem to wait too long to talk to our parents or grandparents about their lives. He begins his article saying:
“I have one living grandparent—my father’s mother, who’s 89 – Nana.
I visited Nana recently and went through the usual activities—talking about myself in a loud voice, fixing her “broken machine” by unminimizing the internet browser window, being told to “slow down Timothy and get in the left lane”, even though the turn is still a half mile ahead. But I also used the visit as an opportunity to do something I have not done nearly enough in my life—ask her questions about our family.
I don’t know you, but I can almost guarantee that you don’t ask your grandparents (or older parents) enough questions about their lives and the lives of their parents. We’re all incredibly self-absorbed, and in being so, we forget to care about the context of the lives we’re so immersed in. We can use Google to learn anything we want about world history and our country’s history, but our own personal history—which we really should know quite well—can only be accessed by asking questions …”
His article speaks to us all, as most of us have lost the opportunity to talk with a parent or grandparent about their lives. To read the complete article, please click here.
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