I wish I had asked more questions.
My grandmother passed away just months before my first child was born. She had battled a variety of debilitating illnesses her entire life, and I know I was so blessed with the time I did have with her, but I still felt robbed. I wanted her to see my little “papoose” as she always called the new babies.
I had just begun my adult life, and all of a sudden, I realized there were so many questions I never asked. As the years have passed, my sadness over this has only grown. I never really talked to her about her childhood—growing up on a farm in the Ohio countryside. I now know from pictures that Grandma loved horses and raised them.
There is a fabulous black and white picture of her (I’ve been unable to track it down), hair in the perfect style of the early 1940s in the saddle of a rearing horse. She looks stunning and brave and strong. A person I didn’t know. But that young woman was still a part of who she was as my grandma, and I never took the time to discover that for myself.
I’ve pondered this lately and realized there’s a lesson here and an opportunity to make up for this failure in other relationships. I will have all of eternity with my grandmother. Above all else, I know for sure that she loved God with all her heart. But I have many other loved ones still with me here, and now is the time. Now is the time to really get to know the people in my life. To ask the questions about their lives before me.
Those who have lived more life than us have so many stories to tell: Heartaches we know nothing of that made them strong. Love that stood the test of time. Childhoods that were so different from ours, yet somehow so much the same.
I am now resolved to do better. To ask those questions instead of always talking about myself and my life. To teach my children the beauty and wisdom of seeking out the stories of those adults in their lives while they still have the opportunity. I will ask the questions.
by Emily Roussell 
by Alison Wright 
by Alexis Linehan 
