School projects a way to keep family narratives going

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There are plenty of ways to feel old these days. The list is as “long” as I am “in the tooth.” And if you recognize that ancient idiom you too are probably no spring chicken.

When my 11-year-old granddaughter came to me with a request, I have to admit being flattered. She wanted me to be the subject of a sixth-grade writing project that involved an extensive history of someone she knew. So of course I felt special.

Until she informed me I was her choice because “you are the oldest person I know.”

My dismay was tempered, however, when I remembered a similar literary assignment my daughter took on when she was a schoolkid some 25 years ago. She interviewed my mother, and in doing so I too learned new details I’d never taken the time to ask abo