Family!

Last week on the Chickadee Cheer Newsletter we talked about family traditions with the first day of school. (Sign up to join.) A warm batch of cookies at the end of the first day is a wonderful welcome and an expression of love. And, also last week, I met a gentleman at a library event who is a historian and presenter at schools. Suffice it to say, I am now hooked on finding out more about our family...

I knew my sister still had most of dad's photos and letters, so I met with her last week and we looked over them for hours. Isn't it frustrating looking at photos with no names on them? Who were these people? And, are we any different today? I know I have a box on the top shelf of my closet with photos (nicely organized by my daughter) with no names or dates on them either. I can safely assume that today most folks have digital files for photos. Will our future generations have access to those? Will they be labeled? It's something to think about.

I've become very interested in the history of our family. In fact, I started with one of the templates out there, MyHeritage.com, and started entering our immediate family. Surprisingly, this was difficult for me. I need to check with everyone just to obtain dates: birthdays (with years), wedding dates (with years), and for those loved ones who have passed, date of death. So busy living this life, I haven't made keeping up with this any kind of priority. 

I selected just one family line to research: my dad's grandfather on his mother's side. I am telling you, it is fascinating. I actually traced his lineage all the way back to Adam!! It took the better part of 3 days to do it, and I really must get back to this life, but I'm glad that I did. I've even done a little bit of research here and there to confirm things are accurate, and they have been.

These days, it seems we are becoming more tribal. Are we just groups of people doing our own things without really thinking of the country as a whole; or our family as a whole. Loyalty, honor, trust, sacrifice, love, faith. While we're busy making our futures, let's not forget our past. And don't let our lives be forever forgotten either.

~ Kathy