Research Nerd

There are few things I enjoy more than looking something up.  The internet is pure heaven for me when it comes to that.  Want to know why we say "Bless you"?  I've looked it up.  (some cultures believed sneezing was the body exorcising demons and saying "Bless you" kept the demons from returning to the body)

So you get it, I am a research nerd.

I've lost hours, days even, looking up my family on the ancestory site.  It is addicting. It's a mystery, a treasure hunt, and a history lesson.

My family did not do family gatherings at all, or rarely for the sake of being fair.  I  do not have family stories to tell to the younger members of the family.  I have many, many cousins and extended family, most of whom I could not identify in a police-line up.  Most of whom I've never met.

As I read back through what little history I do have in my possession, I feel left out.  I feel cheated.  Snippets is all I have to grasp to.

When the family closed my great aunt's house in the early 00's, I found a treasure trove of pictures and one journal.  One.  It was as if it was left for me to find.  It was a datebook mostly, that my great grandmother noted the daily comings & goings of the day.  The year? 1969.  I was born in December of '68.  Documented is the first year of my life, albeit briefly, and including a visit I had with her.  "Betty held her the whole time" it says, which if you know my family is probably a little sarcastic.  Betty is my great-aunt.

(it's the Wednesday entry on the lower left.  She spelled my name wrong, story of my life)

I've heard that she was stern, not open, and not necessarily fun to be around.  I always felt like there was more to the story.  I've always gotten the vibe that she wasn't necessarily like that at all. 

I am going to research her some more, beyond the ancestory site.  She was a major player in Daughters of the Revolution (before the negative connotation it has now, I assume)  so I am sure there must be record of her.

I've watched every episode of "Who Do You Think You Are" and am fascinated. I watch amazed as they find out details about their family's past that is right there for the taking if you do the research.  Most of  the participants have said that it changed them, made them feel connected and have an appreciation for those who came before them.

I have to admit that I agree.  I discovered person-by-person in one branch that they came over from England, started over in the New Country, and made their way over to the West Coast, well before it was established. I worry about paying bills?  whine about going grocery shopping? I need to sit down and shut right the hell up.

What's my point, you're wondering?  Take the time and go poke around your past.  I don't believe you'll be disappointed.