A blog about Love.
Connection. Connecting people with people, connecting people with nature and connecting people with themselves. We love the feeling of true connection and we strive to create special moments for people that we think will yield that special feeling.
We thought, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it would be a great idea to take the opportunity to do a little connecting ourselves. Both Will and I are lucky to be close to our grandparents, so for Valentine’s Day we asked them to answer a few questions for us on the topic of Love.
I found it sort of funny how I’ve obviously known Nan my entire life, yet there’s so much I don’t know about her younger life. She is always telling stories and sharing memories, but they’re mostly stories of her children and their upbringing, she rarely talks about her own life experiences growing up. From this little mock interview I did with her, I found myself feeling a sense of familiarity, as she was describing these stories from her life when she was a similar age as I am now. I related to a lot of her experiences and found myself comparing them to many of my own.
I hope from reading this it inspires you to do a little digging on your own grandparents, or any elders in your family. I think you’ll find they have so much love to share and so many stories to tell, stories that would otherwise get lost amongst their more recent life. I saw Nan light up when I asked her these questions, a topic of conversation I’m sure she rarely gets to share anymore. It seemed it was almost a sweet reminder of the amazing times she’s had. After all, some of these stories and memories are nearly 80 years old!
You can also hear their voices on our instagram post!
Jesse & Doug
Meeting in Melbourne in 1944 and marrying a few years later in 1949 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Jessie and Doug were married for 60 years. Doug passed away in 2009 on the day of their 60th wedding anniversary. Jessie is a mother of 7, a grandmother to 15, and a great grandmother to 28. Jessie is fighting fit and enjoying life at 95 years old with lots of bingo, choccies, and storytelling.
Nan how did you meet Pop?
“My brother Bluey worked with him at an armaments factory in Footscray. He was knocking around with a rough crew from St Kilda so he started coming over to my house with my brother a lot. After a few times I ran into him and asked him “what are you doing here?” and he replied, “Looking for a free meal”. I gave him quite a bit of cheek in the beginning. I thought he was too free with his girlfriends; I didn’t like the girlfriends he had had. He stayed over a lot because of my brother. He was too cheap to catch the train home I guess. I didn’t really like him. I thought his pace was just too fast for me.”
When was your first date?
“On his 21st birthday. He invited me to his 21st birthday. My brother Bluey told me “Suttie wants to take you”, but he had been going with another girl so I told him I didn’t want to go with him because I didn’t trust him. The next thing I know I was in a taxi with Bluey and he tells we we’re going past to pick up Doug. Bluey said “Suttie will look after you” and I said “I’m not going with him he’s got a girlfriend” and then he replied that he doesn’t go with her anymore. So we picked him up and went to the party and he danced with everyone at the party except me. After about halfway through he came up to me and asked to dance. I told him “you are not! You’ve danced with every other girl here! You’re going nowhere near me. You think I want to dance with you now?” And I told him “you’re not taking me home either!”
So, I got up and danced with him after being told I had no choice. Going home, we got a taxi home and we dropped Doug off and I went home with Bluey. The next week he asked me to the pictures.
What were some of Pop’s traits that initially stood out to you?
“His outgoing ways, and his sense of humour. He had cheek to him. We had a lot of back and forth banter. I liked his curly hair. I didn’t really pick one part about him I just liked him.
What was the most difficult thing to overcome with Pop?
“He had a tendency to just come out with these random remarks, and out in public with friends he could embarrass me sometimes. I never could never tell what he was going to say next.”
What would you like to say to him if he was here now?
“I wish you were here now.”
What is the key to a good marriage?
“Compatibility. Compromise as well. When we started going together I told him I couldn’t marry him because he wasn’t a catholic, and he said “well I’ll change”. There was no question about it. It surprised me because he always did things his own way. I told him he couldn’t because his heart wouldn’t be in it and that he’d just be doing it for me. Well, he did it and he became quite a religious man, he ended up going to Sunday school and received a few awards as well!”
Nan also added in a little extra piece of advice for me when looking for a man…
“pick a man like Pop”
Dorothy & Peter
Dorothy and Peter are Will’s grandparents, and Allison’s mum and dad. Married in April 1962, Together they raised 5 children and 11 grandchildren. They are still together today, Dorothy is about to celebrate her 80th Birthday and together they’re about to celebrate their 61st Anniversary.
We interviewed them separately.
Peter, how did you meet?
“We met at the Spencer Street railway buildings. It wasn’t love at first sight, it was a pleasant experience but it wasn’t a romantic experience. The setting didn’t really allow it.”
We asked if Dorothy caught his eye and Peter replied “She might have” with a cheeky smile.
What are your favourite traits?
“She’s very Industrious. She’s very caring, both about life and about medical things (Dorothy worked as a nurse for most of her life) She’s very strong when she supports something, she goes all the way and won’t see anything against it.
It’s never been a struggle.”
What’s the key to staying together?
“Right now, staying alive…
To stay in good health so that we can keep enjoying life with one another. I’m getting to a point in my life where I’m getting a bit older and my health possibly isn’t as good as it could be. I feel as though I can get to that level but I have uncertainty in my mind about that.
But yeah, Staying healthy together.”
Dorothy, where did you meet?
“At work, well, he wasn’t working. He walked in in his army uniform (he was on leave for national service which is when I started working there) and thought he looked fairly flash. I was behind an office wall, a glass wall, with three other females and he came in and came over and introduced himself and sat on the desk.
I remember him in there from time to time, talking to people in the office and looking through the glass at us.”
What was something memorable about the first few times you saw him?
“That he thought he looked great, I didn’t dislike him, but at the same time I wasn’t thinking, gee he’s the one for me!
But he sort of grew on me, At work, I don’t know what in particular but it was something. He would always be coming in and chatting to me”
What’s your key to staying together?
“Well, I’ve just never been interested in anyone else, And there has to be something fairly deep for that to be the case, but it was just never a thought not to be together.”