Happy Anniversary

I realize today it may not be the order than things are always done .... but "in theory" without celebrating a marriage, we would not be able to celebrate the joys of having "3 Generations".

Today is my Parent's wedding Anniversary.    it's a time to look back at a couple's joys, honour the life they have shared together, and to look forward to the future they will have together.

It's funny, as I'm doing my family tree research, the focus seems to be on births and deaths.   Marriage registrations and certificate are exciting finds because it confirms or reveals the names of Parents and birth locations.    With births and deaths it's so easy to get emotionally caught up in the event ... but Marriage is such a wonderful part of our family and who we are.   it joins 2 families and brings them together into one family tree.    from now on, I'm going to take a better look at the marriage registrations I find, look at the signatures on the documents .... did they have a big wedding or a small one, was the Bride as beautiful as I imagine, what was everyone wearing, did they arrive in horse drawn carriages or motor cars.

no marriage is perfect, but my Parents have had a wonderful marriage.   today I think of my Parents wedding .... of what an exciting day it must have been.   the fall colours that were in their glory outside the Church, my Dad waiting at the alter with his best friend, my Mum standing at front of the Church with my Grandfather holder her arm and walking her down the isle.   two very different families (country vs city), from different backgrounds (French Canadian vs Scottish/UL/UEL), and different Religions (R.C. vs Protestant) .... all comming together in a union so that I could have the best family tree of all.

So, Cheers to my Parents as they celebrate their Wedding Anniversary .... here's to another 100 more !!

3 Generations ... Grandmother, Mother, Daughter

my blog is called "3 Generations" because of my maternal Grandmother.   as the story goes, many years ago, my Grandmother was showing a picture of herself, my Mum and me to my Dad.   she apparently went into great detail about this being a picture of "3 generations", how and why it contained 3 generations.    needless to say, it ended up being a silly joke, resulting in some teasing at my Grandmother's expense.    that being said, it's a very important phrase to me, it means family, it means history ... and apparently it can not be taken lightly as it can be rather rare.   

the last time the women in my family had 3 generations like this ended in 1855 when my 4-times Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Price-Culp, passed away leaving her Daughter Catherine Culp-Tallman (1813-1897) and her Granddaughter Mary Ann Tallman-Woon (1837-1877).   Sadly, Mary Ann passed away only 5 years after the birth of her Daughter (my Great Grandmother), Mary Louise Woon-Elliott (1872-1941).    Mary Louise passed away 6 weeks prior to the birth of her Grandaughter (my Mum).

December 11, 1963 ~ Doris Adelia, Jacqueline Louise & Della Christine .... the 1st "3-generations since 1855, and we were fortunately to have each other for 15 years.   Unfortunately, on October 16 1979, my Grandmother passed away.

but, life goes on, and apparently so does tradition .... exactly 12 years later, we were blessed to have "3 generations" in our family once more.   October 16th 1991, my Daughter was born.    

I remember when I first realized that my daughter was born on the same date that my Grandmother passed away, and how sad I thought it was, how I wanted to avoid my daughter seeing that when we were doing family tree research together.    Today my baby turns 21, she has grown into a beautiful young woman, and I am SO proud of her.   As I look back at the 3-generations I had in my youth, and the 3-generations that my daughter has had her entire life, I often think of my Grandmother and how much she would have loved to been part of my daughter's life .... then I wonder, is the date a co-incidence?   after all, my daughter was born 3 weeks past her due date, and I was in labour for 3 days ... what the heck was she waiting for ??!!    Has my Grandmother been more involved in our current 3-generations that we're aware of ?

I suppose by the time I find out if my Grandmother has been watching over us it will be too late to blog about it .... but isn't it a wonderful feeling, to think that passed family members are still with us, at least in spirit.

Happy 21st Birthday to my baby girl, with special thoughts & prayers for my Grandmother ... 2 amazing women that I have been blessed to have in my family, and in my life <3

Della & Jacquie

if you want to read a wee bit more about my baby on her 18th-birthday


Della & Kelsey