Inspiration

I was inspired to take on this project after the passing of two of my grandparents in 2021. Jean and Bob DeVries were married for over 60 years, had four kids, ten (I think? I should know this answer) grandchildren, and countless (I definitely don’t know that answer) great grandchildren, and it was only toward the end of our time together that I really took an intentional approach to getting to know them.

If you are lucky to know them, grandparents serve many purposes in our lives. Until recently, Nana and Papa meant an escape to the family farm, eating tomatoes off the vine, picking pumpkins in the fall, and spitting (and getting yelled at for it) grape skins and seeds into the yard. When they passed I had to grapple with — and am still processing through — the idea that those memories are now just that, memories. I will no longer be able to create new ones with them.

Their deaths also brought me to the realization that, while I prioritized hearing the stories of the people, organizations, movements, and causes in my professional and service lives, I rarely have intentionally made the effort to hear the stories of the people that fill my life outside of the professional realm. Until the last couple of months before their deaths, when the writing was really, truly on the wall, when I would visit we would talk about them, their lives, and their stories. For my entire life the conversations I had with my grandparents always revolved around me — hobbies, school, work — but rarely would we talk about them. Thankfully, I am able to sit with this knowledge guilt-free (after many sessions with my therapist) as I know that they were doing what grandparents do, they centered me in our interactions. I am thankful for the time we had together and the stories that I did get to hear.

Storytelling has always been a bold throuhgline of my work. I hold deeply the notion that to truly know someone — their passions, their histories, and their hopes for the future — we have to share stories, hear their yearnings, what excites them, their least favorite foods, and their most favorite memories.

I hope to slow down, take the time to breathe it all in, and listen to and learn from those around me.

I am excited to begin this journey!