Last weekend, my family had some special visitors from back home – my grandparents came with my mom and dad to visit their 3-week-old great granddaughter.
Nothing can quite prepare a new mother for the surge of emotions she’ll feel seeing her beloved grandmother holding her baby for the first time. It was a beautiful day and a perfect way to end an incredibly stressful week.
I’m lucky to have three living grandparents still who are all very active in my life and beyond excited about my growing family.
And of course no visit from the family could possibly be complete without a photo session. Pictures of my niece holding the baby. My parents holding the baby and of course my grandparents holding the baby.
But I also got to take a couple of really special photos – ones I hope my daughter will grow up to cherish – four generation photos. We took pictures of my daughter, my dad, my grandpa and myself. Then we took another four-generation photo with my grandma.
These were really important photos to take with my daughter because I want her to understand the importance of her family history. I want her to know, when she looks at these photos that each of those four generations grew up in different times and each witnessed important parts of world and American history differently.
I want her to know that family, no matter how far away they might live are the very fiber of who we are as individuals and I certainly want her to grow up knowing how incredibly special her family is.
With two four-generation photos down, that only leaves one more – my mom, her mom, the baby and me.
This one will be a little more special as it has several meanings. All four of us are first-born daughters. And we have one tradition that I hope my daughter will pass on some day – four generations with the same middle name. I grew up knowing I’d pass my middle name on to my daughter, just like my mother and her mother did. I’m proud to keep that tradition alive and excited for the day I can record that tradition on photo.
Send us your four-generation photos and share your family history with Examiner readers. Send submissions to stephanie.boothe@examiner.net
