QUESTION: What hobbies, interests, and talents do you have in common with your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors?
Well, I am going to confine this answer to just my parents. I didn't really KNOW my grandparents. My grandfathers were both dead by the time I was born. And, my grandmothers died when I was eight and twelve years old. They lived in Utah. We lived in Wyoming. Limited, limited time around them--and never, ever one on one. Truthfully, I don't think they even knew my name. I was always referred to as "Maude's youngest" or "Meb's youngest". And as far as other ancestors....don't have a clue. So, this is going to be short.
My dad loved to read. He loved to read the newspaper, biographies, history and geography. I learned all that from him. Maybe there is a reading gene, especially one that guides to learning about people and places because that is truly what I like, too.
When we were in the car driving somewhere my dad would quiz me as to the makes and models of vehicles, interesting geographical features we were passing through, and the names of the states and their capitals plus their industry, etc. It was all a game. He praised me. He told me I was a "sharp tack". I loved to see the big grin on his face when I remembered something particularly obscure. Those little games helped me be observant and honed my memory.
I learned from my dad how pleasant it is just to go for a drive in the car--and have a treat somewhere along the way. From these little day trips I learned to love and appreciate the beauty of the earth because he always pointed out some "beautiful" thing I might not have even noticed because it didn't jump out at me. I realize his work allowed him to have whole days at home where we could do that kind of fun stuff on weekdays, not just the weekend. He would back the "town car" out of the garage to the back door, honk the horn, and when one of us came out of the house to see what he wanted, he would ask if we'd like to go for a drive. Y.E.S! because his work could never be depended upon to have him home for any special meeting, a school event, a recital, a party or celebration, or Christmas even. This then was a welcome compensation.
My dad loved his job! That is his Union Pacific job working with trains, first as a fireman and then when I was little and until he retired, as an engineer. Before that he had run the gamut from sheepherder to store clerk to miner and other types of employment in between, I'm sure. Not crazy about any of them but had the integrity to work hard and do his best to support his family. He did NOT like farming or ranching. I have often said I have the same genes as my dad. Just in love with a different mode of transportation.
Integrity, keeping promises, doing a full days work for a full wage. Those were all character traits I had an interest in. Because they meant a lot to my dad and he modeled them every day, they became mine, too.
The biggest interest I got from my mother was playing well-thought-out and prepared preludes on the organ. I have come to love organ callings and service from her example. I did not share her creative joy with sewing. I truly DID NOT have an interest. But when I did sew--and I did sew a great deal of my young married life--I was as particular as she was. I did inherit her attention to detail. From her I was interested in keeping a clean home, using refinement when we set the table and in other areas of our home, and in impeccable personal grooming. (Not that I AM all the time!)
I did not inherit my mother's compassion (she used to call me Frankie), her aptitude as an excellent cook, or her ability to be such a gracious hostess--inviting people for a meal and to have a bed at a second's notice. I didn't do any of THAT even when I had plenty of time to prepare. For me, just putting a meal on the table for the family all those years was strenuous. And most of the time it left a lot to be desired, if it wasn't a downright disaster.
I did share my mother's interest in the stories of the Bible. She had a large volume titled Hurburt's Stories of the Bible which she read to me--not often as she wasn't a bedtime story reader, but in preparation for her Sunday School class. She was my teacher for some time, I think. I really liked those stories and was just a wee bit disappointed when I read them straight from the scriptures. They didn't seem half as entertaining as the story book. She loved the Discourses of Brigham Young and DID read often from that. She had a simple testimony. She wasn't a gospel scholar, but she knew what was important to know--follow the Savior.
My mother made chores and our work around the house a game. Beat the clock was a favorite of mine (probably because I was so lazy, but my mother also realized I was competitive. I wanted to BEAT that clock!) I did like that and I tried to do the same thing with my own children. She used to teach us the books of the Bible as we were doing dishes--she washing and I was drying them--as well as little verses like "The Lost Sheep", "Judge Not!" and others I just have snippets of in my head.
Sitting down to the piano just to play for enjoyment was one thing for which I did not share my mother's enthusiasm. It seemed like it was all I could do was get through the daily practice HOUR! But now I love to sit down and play. There is always a piece of music open on the piano. She said when you did that, it was an invitation to sit down and play. Mine open on the piano is my musical etude to keep my fingers moving. And, the hymns. My hymnbook is there, too. My mother used to sit down and play ragtime like "The Maple Leaf Rag" or other pieces she had memorized. She taught me "Beautiful Dreamer" long before I ever took piano lessons, and I used to be able to sit down and play that and "Rustles of Spring" and "The Robin's Departure". I can't do any of that any more. But I am a terrific sight reader. My mother was , too. Plus I have a good feel for the hymns like she did, too. I became an old workhorse of an accompanist there for the duration, as she described herself, instead of a prancing pony who just came in and made a show but couldn't stay the course.
So, there you have it! There is probably more, but I can't think of it right now.
In the big picture, it looks like I am kind of a composite of a few interests and talents my parents had.
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