Last week, I bought a Time Magazine titled “America at 250.” It’s a pretty interesting magazine and one that made me think about my ancestors. My mom was in town for a week, and we were talking about how our aunt lived to 106. I’ve talked about her before, my Great, Great Aunt Jennie. She was born on December 16, 1915. In the little over 100 years she was on this earth, she saw so much change.

She was born into a time when cars existed, but horses were still more common for transportation. She was born during WWI. She lived through the Spanish Flu, which was one of the deadliest pandemics in history. She got to live through the Roaring Twenties. A time of prohibition, and when women gained the right to vote. Woo!

Celebrating 100 years in 2015.

She lived through The Great Depression, where she learned to eat what was given to her because she didn’t know whether they would have a meal the next day. We got to see her continue to eat this way as a habit. She would clean her plate, eat every single piece of meat and tendon off a chicken bone, and really wasn’t picky. As a family, we would laugh in amazement at her appetite and how she would eat everything on her plate. Growing up, she was an icon for me, someone who lived in a time that was taught to me as history in school. She lived through things that we had never lived through. She experienced firsts throughout her entire life. Big firsts. Riding in a car, electricity in her home, radio, and TV.

She lived through so many other wars, too. World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, The Cold War, and the War in Afghanistan.

Aunt Jennie lived through the Baby Boom. She was never married nor did she ever get a license. Her sister, my Great, Great Aunt Frances, had her license, although she never married either. They lived together in a beautiful, dreamy Victorian house in Lynden, WA. I remember they would sit at their small round table for breakfast, with toast and a boiled egg. They would eat their boiled egg with a spoon from one of those egg holders. I thought this was peculiar because I cut my boiled egg in half, put the two halves yoke-side down on half my toast, and then folded over the other side of my toast to make a sandwich. Their way felt very sophisticated and fit the dreamy Victorian, different-decade vibe.

Although Aunt Jennie was born about 50 years after slavery was abolished, she grew up in a nation still wrestling with what freedom and equality looked like. She lived through the Civil Rights Movement. What is so interesting to me about her life is that she wasn’t learning any of this from a textbook or an internet search; she was living as it unfolded.

Quinn’s Baby Shower

Aunt Jennie lived through the rise of technology. From home computers to cell phones, from smartphones to streaming services. She never had a cell phone; she would use her trusty home phone. And her television watching was usually keeping up with the Mariners.

Well off in years, she experienced her second pandemic, COVID-19. She lived through it while living in an old folks’ home. At that point, she could hardly hear, and her eyesight was waning, but she remained resilient because that’s all she knew. We went to visit her, masked up, and through closed glass doors, we got to talk (yell) through a phone line connected to headphones. I remember being so emotional about how lonely she must’ve been. Her smile was great that day. You could tell she was grateful to see us all, and we were grateful to see her – healthy and in good spirits.

She was, and is, a constant reminder that no matter what is going on in the world or in our nation, there is reason to hope, reason for joy. As she got on in her years, everyone she had grown up with, parents, siblings, friends, and other family, had died. When her brother passed away, I remember walking into the room where he was, and she was sitting by his bedside, heartbroken. I can only imagine what was going on in her mind. Thoughts of “why am I still here? Everyone I’ve grown up with is gone.”

My Aunt Jennie was a constant fixture in my life, and I’m so grateful that she was. It was such an amazing relationship to have because it gave me a different perspective. Sometimes we would get to just ask her questions. She was a woman of faith and extreme contentment.

She lived in a time when women would go to the salon to get their hair set. She did this until she died, never straying from her classic hairdo. Her mind was sharp, and she had a great personality. She was always down to have fun and make memories.

visiting us while we were camping

So, for this monumental birthday for America, I was inspired to paint America-themed backyard farm-inspired watercolor paintings. But I also got to thinking, I’ve only been here for 33 years. And although I’ve lived through some big history-making events. My Aunt Jennie lived through a TON of unprecedented historic events. As I was flipping through Time Magazine, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, my Aunt Jennie got to (or had to) experience so many history-making events. She was born into a world that used horse-drawn wagons for transportation and died in a world that was well advanced in technology. In her one lifetime, she lived through a lot of human history.

So whether you

like our president or not

agree with the war or not

are a Republican, a Democrat, or somewhere in between

are religious or not

come from generations of Americans or are new to this nation

love this country or have complicated feelings about it

struggle with our country’s history or celebrate its history (or both)

feel hopeful about the future or uncertain about it

We are all human. We are all a part of history. We all get to be part of this growing nation. And as a human being who is only 33 years old, I want to continue growing up in a nation with the freedoms we have that the people who came before us fought hard for. I want to recognize our privilege and not take it for granted. I want to remember the freedoms we do have, the sacrifices that made them possible, and the work still left to do. And instead of living in guilt because of it, I want to live with greater gratitude and generosity because of it. I want to continue to learn. I want to remain curious so I can keep an open heart and mind to different beliefs and systems. Because when we are close-minded, we miss out on opportunities for relationships.

We all have an opportunity to contribute to making our nation better. We all have room to improve. But it’s in the continuous and consistent growth of ourselves that we can feed back into others. For America’s 250 years, celebrate where we are, remember where we came from, and hope for where we are going. We are a young nation with lots to learn and more history to be made. Let’s do it together.