As I have become much older, I have begun to think of questions I should have asked when my parents were still alive.  I will never find the answer to any of these, because they are no longer here to answer.  Why didn’t I ask my mom or my dad these questions?  Was it because I thought they’d live forever?  Or was it because I just hadn’t thought of the questions yet?

Maybe it is just something we don’t consider when we can have contact with them every day, if we wish to do so.  Even if we are far away in proximity, we can communicate instantly by talking on the phone or even having the possibility of seeing them on Facetime .

I was fortunate enough to have a lot of time with my mom, staying with her in the daytime for over 2 years before she passed.  She was sharp as a tack and remembered things that I couldn’t remember.  I could have asked her anything and everything and she would have had an answer.  My dad died 30 years before that and it hadn’t even occurred to me to ask about such things yet.

Now, I wish I had asked her about her childhood and her adult life before I was born.  I know a lot, but somehow, I wish I knew more.  Maybe that’s why I never asked about it.  I could have been satisfied with what I knew. 

I really wish I knew more about my grandparent’s lives.  I knew some basic facts but now I crave the details of how they felt about the events and circumstances of their lives.  I don’t know if I would have even known how to ask them.  But they all immigrated to the United States and I wish I knew their stories.

I guess this is a message I would like to give the younger generation.  Ask questions about your family’s life stories while you are young.  You will appreciate them more and more as you grow older.  After all, you wouldn’t even be here without them.