Family Legacy Stuff

I now am the proud grandfather of not one but, count them, two grandsons. I could not be more proud. (Well, until August when my oldest daughter Alyssa, whose blog is linked, adds another grandchild to the mix. The gender is still unknown, so we will be patient the old fashioned way!) It is amazing how the smallest of humans can totally change your life. Ask any new parent – or for that matter, any of us who used to be new parents.

If you read my blog that I posted just after the birth of the latest, you noticed the name of the new grandson was Gideon Lee. My son and daughter-in-law (Richard and Priscilla) much to my joy and without my urging gave their son the same middle name that has been in my family for some time. Gideon is the fourth direct generation where the oldest male was given the same middle name. Lee is sort of a southern thing I guess, but it works well for us.

My Dad’s name was Robert Lee. That is the same name his grandfather had. Since it skipped one generation, there was no dreaded junior on it. The middle name of Lee almost did not get to me. I am sort of an illegitimate first born.

Let me talk a bit about that.

I am a first born . . . sort of. No, I have not lost my mind . . . honest. Although I am officially the oldest child as far as outsiders would know, and I have all the traits and characteristics of a first born (ask anyone who knows me) in reality, I am not the first born. My parents had a son a year before me . . . almost exactly. My birthday is June 16. The brother older than me was born June 14. There were respiratory problems and he only lived for a few minutes before dying. He is buried in a grave beside my parent’s marked “Infant son of Robert L. and Jeanette H. Mann.”

(BTW – I have a brother, Randy whose birthday is June 13 . . . if you track back nine months that is September – wedding anniversary. Okay that is too much for a son to talk about, let’s move on!)

In reality, my older brother was not given a name. He was going to be named Robert Lee Mann, Jr. I was told by both my parents. However, in those days, 1953, that did not happen with the early deaths of infants as is common today. A year later when I was born they wanted to give me the name of Robert, but were afraid after the other son died. So, I was given the middle name of Lee to accidentally start the tradition we still carry on. The first name of Terry was put with it in place of Robert. (I might add I hate that name!! But it is; what it is.)

It is amazing what a name can mean. I feel the family legacy thing whenever I read or hear the name Lee connected to our family. I have a niece with that middle name, and my youngest daughter toyed with giving Gavin that middle name, but did not want to steal that privilege from her older brother.

Family is important. They teach us, challenge us, irritate us, love us, and support us . . . or not . . . depending upon your family. If they did not do these good things, there is a great sense of loss. I know . . . I have some of them. But family is important.

On June 4 I will be attending a family reunion on my father’s side of the family. That coupled with the birth of this new grandson has me thinking about my legacy and my fore parents.

In the next two days, I am going to write a couple blogs that talk a bit about my father. I will share the background on them then, but they will give an insight into my family. In the future, I will talk a bit about my mother as well.

That is tomorrow. Today . . . I am just the proud grandfather of Gideon Lee Mann and Gavin James Mann!