My great-grandmother used to live in Stow, MA where my grandmother and mother grew up. When I was younger, my great-grandmother had two pet geese (along with several other animals). When my family visited, her favorite thing to talk about was animals, specifically her pets. She always had a great love for animals and had other pets such as finger monkeys, cats, dogs, ferrets, and more. After her geese passed away, I began to notice that she had multiple objects with birds on them scattered around her house, like pictures and figurines. I am not sure if she'd always had them, or if she got them in memory of her birds. Eventually, she moved to Edgecomb, Maine, where I could not visit her as often. Although, when I did visit her new home, I found that she had taken all of her bird things with her. My great-grandmother died back in 2013. My cousin and I went to her house with our mothers after her passing. Our moms found some of her things that they wanted to keep, and I found a bird figure. Her love for animals was undying, so I took this bird home with me. I keep it in my room, and it reminds me of her. Even though she had to move away to a different state, she made sure to keep the things that were important to her close.

– L.H.

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant