Every few months my mum and I, sometimes with my dad or a brother, jump in the car and drive to Adelaide to visit my last living grandparent, my grandma, who is now 94. While some people might find visiting a grandparent a tedious obligation, I look forward to it every time. I used to think that I didn’t have much in common with my grandma; she likes crosswords and talking about people I don’t know, rather than politics which is my favourite conversation topic. She dresses immaculately, while my clothes have holes and stains. Most of her family have voted Liberal her whole life, while I am an activist, sometimes living in blockades and wishing/fighting that the whole government representative democracy system we have will be turned on its head.
But as I spend more time with her I find our points in common. We both don’t like shopping, we think politics is corrupted by money and ego, we love old trees, playing cards and sticking to our specific daily routines.
The thing I like the most about being with my grandma are the stories she tells me of what life was like for her generation, and her parents’ and grandparents’ generations. What life was like for a woman back then, unquestioningly following and supporting a husband, working so hard without the modern conveniences of supermarkets, washing machines and automatic hot water. What it was like to live during the Second World War, how they did so many things before plastics and mobile phones. I can read these things in books and see them in movies, but it isn’t the same as hearing them from my grandma.
Talking to her also helps me understand my mum better, and myself. It helps me understand my place as a descendant of Cornish, English and Scottish settler colonists of the 1800s in South Australia, which I am finding a hugely important part of the self reflection needed to support First Nations led struggles and decolonisation.
So, I highly recommend a visit to your old relatives if that’s possible for you, and see what stories you can learn about your history.
By Anisa
The Coburg Meddler 