Memoirs

It was final inspection day at the old family home before I sold it to the new owners. I was idly walking through the hallways and rooms, remembering time spent with my grandparents here, when it occurred to me that I hadn’t made sure that the attic was clear yet. I was sure that no one had been up there in ages–the last family members to live in this house full-time were my great-great grandparents–but I didn’t know if Grandma had ever stored anything up there, and I figured it merited checking out before I sold the place.

I climbed the dusty stairs, and they creaked under my feet with every step from years of lack of use. When I got to the top and flicked on the light, there were only a few objects stacked at the far end of the room: a chest, a few old boxes, a rickety chair, and a stack of books. Upon closer inspection, the boxes contained old keepsakes from generations past that I wouldn’t recall, but Mom might, and the books looked old–older than anything else I’d ever seen Grandma have, and they were the only things in the attic that looked like they had been disturbed somewhat recently.

I picked up the first book in the stack and saw that they were all heavy and leather-bound. I opened the cover and flicked through the first few pages to a title that read A Collection of Memoirs from the Matriarchs of the Taylor Family Line. Intrigued, I sat down on the dusty chair and began to read…

Generations 1 and 2: Debra Salter and Kristine Taylor

Generation 3: Rachel Gaudinier

Generation 4: Allison Goth

Generation 5: Lynna Finkel

Generation 6: Leia Marie Langerak

Generation 7: Amanda Mosher

Generation 8: Brianna Keaton

Generation 9: Janet Mitchell

Generation 10: Kelly Dubose

Generation 11: Sara Randall

Generation 12: Anne Sauer

Generations 13 and 14: Margaret Newbie and Jaime Gallegos

Generation 15: Latie Rutledge (not yet available)

Generation 16: Autumn Frio (not yet available)

Generation 17: Sasha Durand (not yet available)