Living Family History

With all my recaps of my East Coast trip, I neglected to mention one of the purposes of my trip. I went out to Virginia for a "history lesson". My Aunt Lilly wanted to record family history and I wanted to sit in for the sessions. At 101, my grandma or Lola (Filipino term for grandma) still has her wits about her. She can name all of her siblings and their offspring (grandchildren included) plus birthdays. When you factor in she had 12 siblings, that is a lot of names and birthdays.

From the time I was in high school, my Lola would enthrall me with stories of our family's rich history. Her storytelling skills are legendary. I once made a half-hearted attempt in college to start writing some of this information down. These sessions did not disappoint. I got the complete story of how my grandparents met and fell in love. My Aunt also got the story how her parents met. My Aunt's father was my Lola's older brother and her mother became my Lola's best friend. (Follow the lineage?) What is most remarkable about these stories is that they explain why my Lola's clan, the Sandico Family, is so close-knit. I am close to and keep up with several of my second cousins on this side of the family. Hopefully, my Aunt and I will be able to record all this information and do it justice.

Because I am a more visual record keeper than a written one, here are some photos I snapped during one of the sessions.

Lola tells her stories with a digital recorder close by


Aunt Lilly verifies family lineage based on some documents my Grandpa typed up. Despite the facial expression, Lola is not crying, merely concentrating.


Because her sight is not what it used to be, Lola prefers to keep her eyes closed.
This does not stop her from gesticulating with her hands.


Now, I know where I picked this habit up from.


Beautiful Wrinkles on a 101 Year Old Expressive Face


Hands that I grew up with