Project Launch!

Hello Everyone,
Welcome! You're related to me, so you find yourself, without any effort at all, under Aunty Elephant's Umbrella!

What's with the Elelphant?
When I was fourteen years old, magic happened in my life. My first nephew, Peter Winslow Foley, was born. I got to have a little kid in my family to get to know and love, and we were great friends from the start. I played with him, took care of him, sewed clothes for him, helped him learn to walk and talk, and he called me Aunty Elephant. There was nothing better than being an Aunt. Then one by one, more and more of you who call me “Aunt” came into my life.

Now I have nine lovely nieces and nephews (though never forgetting Bernice, who has been gone from us ten years already), plus my own three to be your cousins. Many of you are married (add seven) and have made a good start on the next generation--an even dozen in the youngest generation, now under my Umbrella.

Thanks to all my brothers--my four, Rich's two--for getting the whole Aunt thing started! Well they didn't do it alone, for goodness' sake. There's a total of thirteen of you, the Uncles and Aunts, in the elder generation.

Forty-four in all, with Aunty Elephant holding up the Umbrella!

Okay, that explains who is here, but why have I gathered you together?

I am committed to having a presence in each of your lives. Too long I've been living as if invisible to most of you, and I've realized that I want to create something very different with my family. Each one of you is as unique and precious to me as that first little nephew, Peter, who came into my life forty years ago.

So yes, I want to create a way to be connected, but in doing that, why not see how we can share Family with the wider world? Much more on this part later, but here’s how I envision getting started.

I love thinking back on the fun times I had growing up, and I know you all have many fond memories, too. What great childhoods we all had! Let’s tell each other some stories, and then I have ideas about how we, inspired by those memories, can create something together that will impact the lives of a group of children in Sri Lanka.

Intrigued? Willing to make the next step?

Please post a comment that will introduce you to the whole family that’s gathered here under my Umbrella—Youngs and Foleys together! Who and Where are you, what are you up to in life, who lives under your roof?

Then—
Start thinking about your childhoods. Here are some questions to help get your memory juices flowing---

What was a favorite pretend play scenario? I had my little plastic horses, making ranches with pine-needle fences out by the ditch.

What are some vivid sensory experiences you can remember? Some for me: making squishy mudpies; the tickley feel of a frog in my hand; the wonderful smell of a horse.

Remember some favorite games?
Indoors
Outdoors
At night
In the pool
On bikes

Did you ever make something you thought was really cool? (or didn’t turn out the way you imagined…)

Do you remember the satisfaction of getting mastery of something through a lot of practice?

What did you do with paper and pencil, paint, crayons, markers, chalk, etc.

Any favorite books or stories from your childhood?

When and how did music play a part in your childhood?

You get the idea, and I hope your memories are beginning to stir!

I love each and every one of you,

Alison