Family Stories - A Foundation

I have grown up with family stories. When I was young I found them entertaining and love to hear them told over and over again. As I got older I found that they made profound statements about who our family was, what they valued, what they thought was important. I have chosen the following story because for me it is the foundation from which all other family stories flow.

A Young Girl's Story

On a warm and sunny spring day in 1910 a farmer was painting the wheels on his wagon. To keep his young daughter of five out of mischief he gave her a small paintbrush to 'help'. As he completed his task (mopping up the dribbles and spatters of the child's mistakes) he noticed that she was no longer beside him.

Looking up he saw small dabs of new paint decorating the weathered wooded fence that led back towards the animal pens. Then he heard a scream...

Fearing that his young daughter had tried to look too closely at a new litter of baby pigs, he raced back towards the pens. The mother of the litter was a huge mean sow that not even he was willing to get within biting distance of. The sow temper was even uglier when she had just had a new litter.

Sliding to a stop at the pen his heart stopped as he saw the red foam dripping from the sow's mouth. Gripping the posts of the pens he dragged his eyes across the rutted earth looking for his daughter's body.

His heart resumed pounding as he saw his daughter quietly standing in one corner of the pen intensely watching the sow. The sow screamed again and charged the tiny child. Just as the sow reached the child, the young girl thrust her paintbrush into the sow's open jaws and vigorously coated the pig's inner mouth with red paint. The sow screamed in outraged anger and whirled away.

The grateful young farmer reached over the fence and snatched his child out of danger.


Now most people ask me what is the point of this story. I answer that there are three very important points...

One, the young girl was my maternal grandmother. If she had panicked when the sow charged her...I would not be here today...

Two, I see this story as a testament to the strength of character the women in my family have...and have been raised to be proud of...

Three, I also see this story as a metaphor. The sow being life and the child being us and this can be a lesson in how to handle life’s challenges. We can either let life eat us alive...or...we can stand and face whatever comes by not giving into fear and uncertainty....we can triumph and overcome any obstacle as long as we can keep our wits about us...and not let ourselves be defeated before we have even begun...

It is kinda like that saying...

"A WINNER NEVER QUITS AND A QUITTER NEVER WINS"

adding....

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN A QUITTER
UNLESS.... IT IS SOMEONE WHO'S AFRAID TO BEGIN"

Here the story shows that my family is strong, values courage in the face of adversity, and not to ever give up too easily in any endeavor I may try. This foundation is what made me who I am today.

I hope you enjoyed this story and would like to hear more.