Am I a Matriarch? 

Dear Reader, A young person asked me how I felt about being a matriarch. I had never given it much thought because I believed that a matriarch had to be an old woman and someone in a power mold. I certainly qualify in the first category, but definitely not in the second. I decided to check the dictionary, which proved me wrong. "The mother is head of the family and the descent is reckoned in the female line, the children belonging to the mother's side of the family. This is opposite of a patriarch." So now, how do I feel about being a matriarch? PROUD is the first thing that comes to mind. AMAZED is another. Being a great-grandmother and a widow does qualify me, I would say. Through the years it has been a joy to watch the growth and development of the descendent families. It's also a pleasure to notice familiar traits and resemblances. Grandma