Long Live

I often think about history in the context of what we are doing in this moment, the present. We are making history as we speak. Though it may never be talked about in a classroom or museum, we are all a part of history. Our actions, big and small, affect our collective story.

I’ve had a song in my head recently in the context of the new year titled “Long Live.”

“I said, ‘Remember this moment’… in the back of my mind.”

Do you ever look at old photos of your grandparents or great-grandparents and wonder what they were like at that moment in time? What was life like for them? What did they care about? What were their worries? What were their dreams? Did they want to do something different from what they ultimately did as a career? Did they ever wonder about the future and their future children and grandchildren?

If you had ancestors that packed up everything they owned and traveled a long distance to start a new life, that took guts and survival skills. Maybe surviving hardships gets encoded in our DNA and affects how our descendants move through their lives.

James L. Washburn served in WWII after the bomb was dropped on Japan. I’m sure his parents worried if he would come home safe. James and Ramona went on to start a family and get into the newspaper business… a decision that shaped the lives and career decisions of their children and grandchildren.

“You held your head like a hero… on a history book page. It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age.”

I don’t know yet if my children will live to an old age and if they will have kids of their own. I don’t know if I’m going to be a great-grandmother to someone or fade into obscurity with the passing of time.

I could be just a blip on the genealogical family tree. What makes my time here memorable or worth mentioning?

Is some great-great-grandson of mine going to research the family someday and say, “Ah yes, this is where the wheels started to come off the cart.”

What about a great-grandmother of mine? Did she raise hell while she was alive? Did she fight for the right to vote or heaven forbid wear a dress that showed her legs?

“Long live the walls we crashed through. How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you. [...] Long live all the magic we made [...] one day we will be remembered.”

We think our mannerisms are unique to us, but you may find that you had a great grandfather that had that same smile or way that he walked.

My son CJ smiles just like his Great-Great-Uncle Billy Washburn, and it is haunting to see. All at once, I miss Billy’s face and start to tear up, and in that same moment, I know that in some small way Billy is still here and carries on through his children, grandchildren and even his great-great nephew.

The people we love are never really lost, because a record of their existence is imprinted on our memories. It reveals itself in small moments like this.

When Savannah was first learning to walk and run, she would swing her arm in a very distinct way; my dad said it looked just like her great-great grandfather’s walk. My mom said Savannah’s eyes look just like her great-grandmother’s eyes.

As the kids have grown, their faces have revealed different family traits at different times. Right now, Savannah looks like her Grandma Joy as a little girl, and sometimes she purses her lips like her Great-Grandmother Ramona.

At three years old, CJ looked just like his daddy, Jason; now he looks like we have successfully cloned Joel Washburn. Genetics are wild!

Looks are one thing, but I suspect our genes play a role in our decision-making as well. Maybe you’ll never know how your great-great someone handled a problem, but you may end up attacking it with the same ingenuity.

I think that’s how we honor the ones who are gone on a daily basis… we survive and thrive. That same determined, fiery spirit lives on in our children and grandchildren. In this way, past and present are always connected and the years are just a number.

“If you have children someday… When they point to the pictures… Please tell them my name. [...] Tell them how I hope they shine. Long live the walls we crashed through. I had the time of my life with you.”

So how will we be remembered by our descendants?

I don’t know, but I hope they know just how much they were loved and prayed for. I hope they know that their existence is a miracle. It took surviving so many hardships throughout time to get to this moment.

Love is everlasting and enduring. Our children are the proof.

Lyrics Credit: “Long Live” By Taylor Swift, Speak Now, October 25, 2010.