Letter D for my last name

Going to keep this one short.

Ryan and I are the last of the Dodsons. Unless Ryan has kids, the name will die with us. Uncle Charlie never married or had kids and Aunt Ann’s kids have their father’s name.

Recently I asked Dad about Grandpap’s house in Pennsylvania. What had he and UC & AA decided to do long term with that house and Grandma’s? He said that it’d surprised him but UC & AA consider Grandpap’s house his because they can’t imagine it belonging to anyone else but a Dodson. Dad is not only the oldest son, he’s the only one with children that carry on the Dodson name (if even only for one more generation).

And why they feel that way isn’t surprising. In the time of my great grandfather, the family owned a great deal of the land around the house, but piece by piece it was sold off by my great grandfather. I don’t think Grandpap sold off any more of it when it passed into his hands. But the street off the main road that leads up to the house and now to the rest of the neighborhood that has sprung up on what used to the family land, is called Dodson Rd.

Map of Dodson Rd.

I don’t know how far back the original boundaries were but I’m pretty sure the interstate was put in sometime in the past 30-40 years. I remember as a little girl, being able to see for a ways up behind the house. Now there’s more houses packed into the space.

I’m not sure how far back up the tree you have to go to find another branch of the Dodson tree that still exists.

This is the only reason why I feel sad sometimes that I’m so certain that I do not want to have kids. Because if I did, I’d insist that they carry my name. Dad’s not too optimistic that Ryan will have kids but says he doesn’t mind the fact that he might never be a grandfather or that the name will end with us.