Tell Me More

So often when we have family gatherings we miss the opportunity for the children, or younger adults even, to know more about their grandparents or their family history. We can get caught up in the activities and preparations of the holiday or event and miss the treasure that is right there with us…our own family history.

With Passover and Easter fast approaching, many of us will gather with family to celebrate these most holy of days. So why not take this opportunity to find out more about those who’s history is actually a part of our own.

As you sit around your dinner table or in your living rooms this holiday, here is a list of questions for you or your children to take turns asking to those senior members of your family, whether they be grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles or they can even be for children to ask their parents.

Knowledge of someone’s history, taking a moment to understand the context or circumstances of their lives, enriches and enlightens our own and helps us be more understanding, and in some cases, more loving. And it tells the one you are listening to that you value them.

Use this list as a jumping off place and add other questions you are curious to have the answers to or are just interested in hearing about. Listening to one another and learning each other’s story makes our own story deeper and richer and more colorful. And it can be just plain fun!

Of course you can substitute Easter or Passover in question # 17 or ask half the questions now and hang on to this list and and ask the second half on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas or make up an entirely different list that suits you. But whatever the questions are, start asking and enjoying the answers. Asking someone about themselves reminds them how valuable they are to you and opens the door for you to tell them how much they mean to you.