Ramaeker Woman

The parents came out of Grandma’s room by one by one, bags under their eyes, makeup running down their face, and bright red noses. By that time, I could almost predict what happened. As my mom and dad approached us with their heads down, I prepared myself to hear exactly what I never wanted to hear. “The doctors are turning off the life support machine. She isn’t suffering anymore, and she will be looking over every one of you guys. She said she loves you all so much,” Mom told us while my dad didn’t hide his tears back.

Reasons, why I have chosen this snapshot, is because I think this image contains something that makes a lasting impression on me. It has a lot of good things I can talk about this snapshot memory. Not just good memories but an image that will not be able to get deleted from my mind. People who are in this image are my family members. I say that out of all the other images I have this is one of the favorite ones I can actually say I have a lasting impression. This snapshot image is not really bright image picture because it was taken by the time when the sun was already going down. I have an amazing time that day we had a lot of fun with each other, family times are always great.

Weeks later, sorrow spread throughout all branches of the family. Grandmama passed on and the family gathered once again for the funeral. Several relatives flew in from Mexico and those from northern California returned. The funeral was filled with tears, but there was also joy at seeing relatives whom my mother, aunts, and grandmothers had not seen in many years. Although the reason for assembly was heartbreaking, my family, young and old, came together to celebrate the life of

We would go and do all kinds of things together and those days account for some of my earliest memories. As her first grandchild, we developed a great relationship that we still have today. When the time finally came for me to go to school, it was tough for my Nana to not have me at home every day, but for my parents they couldn’t be more proud of their little boy. My first years of school were great. I was fortunate to have my mother as my kindergarten teacher, but when first grade came so did my first life changing experience. On August 23, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast. That day I woke up, the skies a haunting grey, as the storm moved inland reports of flooding, strong winds, and even tornados came over the television, as my family prepared for the storm’s impact. Sadly, Hattiesburg got the worst Katrina had to offer. The eye of the storm moved directly over us, and when the eye wall struck is when my entire family wondered if it would be our final day on this Earth. At this point, the power had gone out and we sat in an eerie darkness, only equal to that of a war zone. The only sound we could hear was whipping of the wind and pounding of the

My grandma Linda was her only daughter. I spent weeks at Ma’s house in Holstein, Iowa. Christmas for the Grell’s was always hosted at Ma’s house. When I was young she would take me swimming at the communities pool, and ice cream afterwards. Ma’ was an expert cook, her favorite summer dish was fried chicken. She was nearly famous for that fried chicken. In September of 2012 Doctors discovered a tumor in Ma’s liver. Ma’s children paid for an assisted living home in Sioux City, Iowa. She pasted away March 21, 2013. Leading up to March the relationship between my mother and her parents decrepitated. My grandparents refused to come to my high school graduation.

Can a photo really change the way you view things from the past? During the 1920’s life was great for many people. Everyone had a great life. They had money, went to parties, and had many luxuries. All that changed in 1929 when the stock market crashed, People lost everything. The sold everything the own. People stole food, lived in tents, and struggled to stay alive. People lost their jobs. There was no work for anyone. That was the start of the great depression. The government began to try to document how people lived and what was going on within the the United States. They began to hire photographers to take photos of how people lived. They traveled all around the united states as part of the Farm Security Administration

One image in particular is of a family of 6 standing outside next to their car. While taking the photo I heard the wind blowing from the southern plains and the rumble of the car engine. I remember the smell of dust, sweat, and gasoline from the many passing families in the area. While taking it, I felt very tired and dirty thinking of what these families had been going through. Before I left after talking to the family I remember hearing one young boy say “ Daddy, how much longer do we have to drive before we can eat” and hearing those words just broke my heart. Families starving and traveling, trying to create a better future for their children.This family left their home due to a terrible drought in the 1930s, which well over 500,000 people fled the Southern Plains and of that over 200,000 were drawn to California because of the cotton crop that promised jobs in the

It’s August 28th, 2015 I had just moved to Grand Valley State University two days ago. Its 6:15am. My cell phone is ringing. It was my brother and I thought it was too early for him to be calling me, so I sent his call to voicemail, it rang again, I thought to myself, “Why on earth is he calling me at 6:15 in the morning it’s too early for this”, So I finally decided to answer the call and I got the news that my grandma passed away. It wasn’t totally unexpected, she was on hospice care an entire week before I left for college and I’ve watched her slowly deteriorate because of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.

The summer rain of San Luis Potosí, México, made it almost impossible to go outside and enjoy the city without getting drenched, so Abuelito, Silence, and I together in one room, enjoying our second return to our hometown. He sat on his chair and I lay on the bed, calmly looking through the family albums. Bookshelves filled with books from my mother’s and uncles’ university courses and my Abuelita’s books from her teaching years covered one wall. It remained the same ever since we moved to the United States. The same TV. The same bed sheets. The only things that changed was my grandpa’s ability to walk and me. I gained height and weight and well, he has gotten older and weaker. I have lived my whole life with him by my side but do I really

This photo captured one of the best moments of my life, the moment that I will remember for rest of my life. That was the most joyful and emotional moments of my life when for the first time after 10 years I held my mother and father in my arms. None of us could stop crying. It was also the first time in my life I saw my father’s tears. We need it sometime to calm ourselves down to be able to say something.

My grandma, whom we call Lola, had always been an exceptional woman. As an immigrant from the Phillipines, she sought new, exciting things; which was present in New York City. Lola loved being in the moment and helping others. In the city, she worked as an entertainment manager for a nursing home. Her pleasure in bringing joy to a gloomy place was incredible. A loving grandma, she always found a way to commute to New Jersey to see my family and I. She always made my day with her witty jokes. Lola’s smile would illuminate the whole room the moment she walked in.

It was my sisters sixth birthday, and my mom was putting on a birthday party for her, the house was decorated with orange, pink and white streamers, the colors meshed like a beautiful sunset that hung from one corner to the next, with colorful balloons attach to the streamers like a nail in the wall, and as the sun shown through the curtains, the room seemed more lively and happy with every ray that shown through. The atmosphere of today was very fitting for my little sisters happy personality, even though the weight of the news my family received a couple weeks before still lingered, that my Grandma had a severe case of alzheimer's disease my family tried to be strong and happy for Marie, but I saw right through everyone's happy

My picture albums represent my culture and me. My picture albums have memories my family shares and look back on often. We have pictures in there from all the way back when my great grandmother was a child. The pictures we have in there connect my family together. We all grew up in such different places and had many different experiences, so with these we get to share things with each other and bond over the past. In these picture albums, there’s many photos of me from back when we lived in Colorado, before my sister was born. There’s also pictures from when we lived in Seattle. Reflecting back on those pictures feels comforting to me, to see more simpler times in my life. My picture album is important to me because it has pictures from my childhood

It all started on the morning of July 26, when I told my dear daughter Penny Woods to go out and buy the groceries for dinner. She had been so excited to drive by herself since she had just received her driver 's licence. It was hard for me to let her go to the store without me, but I knew I had to. The weather was nice, it was sunny and the clouds dotted the sky. It made me feel better letting Penny go off all alone. I wish I had known that it was the last goodbye I would ever say to her.

Sister Muriel, who was also my grandmother, and who I affectionately referred to as granny, retired a little earlier than usual on the eve of December 10, 1958. Quietly heading toward the dorm seemed to be the best idea for her tired body, since slumber called to her. As her feet climbed the stairs, she could feel the chill of the night against her face, and her body seemed to have difficulty navigating up a multitude of steep cement steps. But taking one step at a time gave her time to reflect on her sour mood which seemed to be a bit melancholy, but again she felt it could be she had a long day of serving, or she missed her deceased husband, Merritt.  However, the quiet, evening allowed her to sleep restfully, that is—until she awakened