Honoring Grandpa

A month ago, we had the privilege of attending a Native American Pow Wow that honored Scott’s late maternal grandfather. It was very touching to have the family gather and remember him. Scott’s mom, grandmother, aunts, and cousin spoke of Grandpa and his service in the US Army. They shared stories of his service and the medals he received.

 

And then they raised Grandpa’s flag. It was very touching to see the flag fly again. But what touched my heart the most was when I looked down at Zeke and saw that he was raising his little hand in a salute to the flag. (We tried to get a picture of it.)

After they raised the flag, they “danced” to the song Soldier Boy. They invited Uncle Hank (Grandpa’s brother) to join in the dance. In all honesty, the dancing looked more like a slow moving Congo line. But Uncle Hank was adorable. He really tried to match everyone else’s steps. Every time he came around to us, he would wink. (Old men are so adorable!) I thought we had got a picture of Uncle Hank, but it looks like he eluded the camera.

 

Uncle Hank leant me a book his sister had compiled about his family. I have loved reading over the histories, and looking at the pictures of his parents and siblings. It’s the best gift he could have ever given me. But I promise to return it as soon as I have copied and scanned everything.

One thing I’ve learned about Native Americans is that they take their time. They never stick to a rigid schedule. They go with the flow. Dancing can go late into the night, and they don’t seem to worry at all. My little Youk Youps (Lily) loved dancing around the gym floor with her grandma and cousins. I had trouble getting a decent picture of her, but she had so much fun!