Remembering, Regenerating

Sharing our stories is an ancient way to connect with each other, and hopefully a future one too. Here's my story of a man who is gone yet is still helping me navigate our turbulent times.

My grandfather Niilo was born in Finland 100 years ago, on August 17th 1920. He was born two years after the civil war in Finland. He spent five years of his life at war, injured twice and lost one of his eyes and two of his brothers.

In August 1944 shrapnel from a grenade wounded Niilo's eye. The Russians were attacking and Niilo lay bloody and unconscious on the ground. His fellow soldiers had to flee for their lives and leave him behind. Shortly after the attack, the leader of his troop realized that he had forgotten an important map hanging on a fir tree. He sent his messenger to retrieve the map. The messenger also found my grandfather and showed him the way to safety. Without that map and that messenger my grandfather would have ended up in another hot and potentially deadly mess - a Russian POW camp.

This happened too: Finland remained independent, Niilo met his future wife Aino after the war was over, Aino and Niilo got 5 children, 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. I was the one who made him a grandfather, the first of the grandchildren. The last time I saw Niilo was at the baptism of my first-born in the summer of 2002. He was half-paralyzed a few months before but he did not let that prevent him from attending the family celebration.

Remembering my grandfather helps me feel like a juniper - real, humble, resilient, grateful.

What kind of gifts were passed down to you by those who came before you?

What kind of memories do you have that nourish, ground, sustain you?