Legacy of education came from Grandma's unusual feat

My dad later told me that his motivation for making sure that his children learned how to swim, or play the piano, or the importance of going to college, was his mother. He knew she was watching, he said, and he didn't want to face her if he let her down by not teaching us properly.

Now I understand why I spent so many summers doing homework, why I've always wanted to go back to school and why my siblings have Ph.Ds. But I think I also understand why my grandmother, at 55, decided to earn her master's degree.

She was busy planting seeds in the apple orchard.

Amy Choate-Nielsen is a full-time mom and part-time writer. She spends her days at the park and her nights at the computer. She writes about family history and her quest to understand life while learning about her deceased grandmother, Fleeta.