Yes, My mother and I joined the DAR the other day. Not only that but we joined the Cameo Society in the DAR. My mother seems to be enjoying it and I really wish I could make it to the meetings – I joined the same chapter since really I feel more at home there.
What’s interesting is while talking about it, my middle son made a comment that made me realize he has no clue how much I care about my family history (and current family). I have a super amazing family that has done a lot of things for the country, the family, and themselves. Personally I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’m a farmer’s daughter that went on to college and not only got a bachelors degree but also a masters! My mother was a coal miner’s daughter that lost her father at 3 years old. Her mother (my grandmother) who was not only first generation American, English as a second language, and the only one of 10 kids to go to high school went on to own a bar for a short time and keep my mother and herself fed and housed. My great grandmother came to the US with three kids by herself through Ellis Island to meet up with my great grandfather and kept having kids until she lost my great grandfather when my grandmother was 3. She cleaned houses to support them all up until she wasn’t able to anymore and the oldest kids could take over.
On the other side of the family my father lost his mother at 13. That side of the family has some amazing stories also that go all the way back to the founding of the country! They even include Rev. John Corbly whose second wife and children were scalped by the Indians by Fort Garard PA. I’m descended from wife 3 but his story is no less amazing with all the things he went through in his life – from being part of the forming of the first government to forming a section of the Baptist Church.
Personally, I’m pretty proud of the family I come from – I’m not sure the best way to instill in my kids that same feeling.