It's funny, at least for me, to experience aging and moving from child to adult to parent to grandparent and then, gradually realizing that I really am middle aged and a grandparent and that "old person" that I saw in my grandparents when I first knew them.
As I posted a few days ago, my branch of Trombles, as far as I know, can be reliably traced back only to the latter 1800s, or perhaps 120-140 years, to my great great grandfather. But now I'm a grandfather, and I realized that the 6, going on 7 children in the newest generation are, from that starting point, generation seven.
Seven generations. So there should be a growing list of family stories and some worthwhile values and traditions to pass along. I need to do my part, and write down some of the things I remember about the farm in Lincoln County and my grandparents - generation three. That's a subject for another time.
Up through generation three, the Trombles were farmers, and I've always had an affinity for farms and farm animals.
I'm also at a point in life that I have most of the things that I need (and a lot that I really don't need), and I've experienced the chore of sorting through a household of stuff and swearing that I wouldn't leave a task like that for my children.
So I thought that it would be nice to start a tradition of giving a gift that would do some good in the world, and making it a project that the wider family could participate in. We could collect money from those who wanted to participate, and use it to donate one or more animals through a group like Heifer International. The generation seven kids could be involved in picking the type(s) of animals to donate, and I think that could be fun for them.
Another connection is that Heifer International - which used to be called The Heifer Project - is a charity that my father, "Grandpa Gene" (generation four), has donated to for many years and thought highly of.
So, I'll throw this out to the family and see what they think.
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