Recently I read an article about how family stories make for healthier individuals. A strong family narrative leads to increased emotional health and happiness. I found the concept of an “intergenerational self” fascinating. From the article:
Why does knowing where your grandmother went to school help a child overcome something as minor as a skinned knee or as major as a terrorist attack? “The answers have to do with a child’s sense of being part of a larger family,” Dr. Duke said.
Browsing our family tree website a few months ago I stumbled upon a story about my grandpa. Apparently he once won a shiny belt buckle in a rodeo and was the envy of the boys in his town. This reminded me of bailing hay with him in Alaska when I was 15 and how he told me another story about when he was a young man growing up in Colorado. He had two horses: a work horse and a “party horse”. Just like a young man with a new car, he kept his party horse clean so he could take it to town in the evening, he told me with a wink.
Sharing my initials with my grandpa, great-grandpa, and great-great grandpa has been a source of pride for as long as I can remember. My initials bond me to my lineage and add to my identity—they provide me a sense of my “intergenerational self”.