Family Journal_027

Item

Open journal with handwritten text about family reflections and ancestry.

Title: Family Journal_027
Alternative Title: Family Journal
Creator: Karen Blessen
Date: 2016
Description: The image depicts an open journal with two pages containing handwritten text in English. The left page features text beginning with a parenthetical note "(Continued from earlier page)" and a narrative reflecting on familial thoughts, mentioning "Grandma" and discussing the upbringing and lives of ancestors and their children. The handwriting is neat and slanted, with occasional underlining for emphasis. The page bottom shows the name "Christian Lacroix," possibly the journal brand. The right page continues the narrative, exploring themes of life events, stoicism, and ancestry. The right edge of the page features a series of colorful dots. The background is a solid black surface.
Identifier: 021_022316-042416_family_journal
Dates Completed: February 23, 2016 - April 24, 2016
Keywords: Family; Parents; Grandparents; Maternal aunts and uncles; Childhood memories; Ghost busting; Revisionist history; Love; Forgiveness; Lingering ghosts; First pet; Pudgie the dog; Gift and loss; Ray of light extinguished; Grandmother’s life; Mother-daughter relationship; Hard work; Treasonous child; Reimagining childhood; Understanding; Devotion; Loyalty; Protection; Perspective; Kip Lott; Piece 24; Prayer pages; Mantram pages; Afiza; Mowgli; Hope Trevino; Mauricio Navarro; Diane Van Buren; Artist attack; Rape; Grandma Asche; Grandpa Asche; Grandma Blessen; Living room conflict; Tension; Arguments; Yelling; Smoking; Drinking; Super collider metaphor; Bringing color; Childhood letter; Betrayal; Friendship loss; Grandma Asche’s offspring; Time off; Pets; Animals; 1964–2016; 2016 elections; Political noise; Centering chart; Grounding; April 21, 2016; Prince dies
Transcription: Left Page:

"(continued from earlier page) mysterious way, they sense it, and feel loved and appreciated. Because during that time - through my childish eyes - it was all about Mom and me.
What did Grandma think? Was she proud of her brood? Or did she have moments of looking out at her argumentative, smoke filled living room and sense the ever-so-faint thought drifting through... why?
6 children (one - Raymond - passed as a child.) 4 did not drink. One - Pearl - devolved into a raging alcoholic. Her children all made their way in the world, went to church, had their own children."

Right Page:

"That was how life happened. The farm was taken care of, everyone had something to eat.
There is the possibility that - in the midwestern stoicism of her people - she was accepting of her fate.
Still... there is my intuition. I feel this growing fascination to go back... back... into their lives - Asche + Blessen.
What lineage of people did God choose for me to arrive at where I am? Not kings, queens, royalty... but immigrants. Those who left a country for something better... left behind the villages of Germany and Switzerland for these hard, hard, hard, killing fields of Nebraska."
Rights: To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
Is Part Of: Family Journal
Relation: Image Gallery