Category Archives: Genealogy General

Genealogical Gratitude – The Internet

arrowI don’t know how we ever got along before the Internet. (Well, I do, but it was a slow process!) I am so grateful at the speed with which I can communicate with my family, friends, colleagues and clients. I am grateful that I can attend a Webinar and brush up on a topic without having to drive a long distance or paying a large fee. I am grateful that I can research late into the night in my bunny slippers and jim-jams. I am especially grateful for the wonderful “cousins” and friends I’ve made almost exclusively because of the Internet. I mean I know that Josh Taylor’s dog is a dachshund named Twix and that Dear Myrtle has adorable grand kids, that Footnote Maven writes incredibly entertaining stories about her cat (Monkey Kitty) and dog (Bullet). I have since been able to connect with many of my Internet friends and various conferences and institutes. I am also grateful that the Internet allows me to close the distance between me and my ancestors, not only through research but with sharing and collaborating with other researchers.

In short, the Internet has closed the time and space gap between me and the rest of the world, and I am grateful!

Genealogical Gratitute – November, Remember

2013-11-07 02.11.00 pmNovember being the month of Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some of my genealogy-related gratitude, things I’m thankful for in terms of my genealogical life. We all have things we are grateful for in all facets of our lives and it’s a good idea to recount those once in a while. I know I tend to get bogged down by the what’s-going-wrong that I forget what-went-right. Every once in a while it is a good idea to take an inventory.

Gratitude is the practice of being grateful, of making yourself (and others) aware of just how good you have it. Research has shown (and Buddhists have known for centuries) that practicing gratitude daily is one surefire way to eliminate the blahs, to find happiness. By focusing on what we have (genealogically speaking – photographs, diaries, bibles, original records of any kind) instead of what we don’t have (birth dates, marriage records, identities of the next generation), we can be happy with what we’ve accomplished.

I know that I have become frustrated with my research results from time to time and have sunken into a pit of “I’m a terrible researcher. Maybe I should go flip burgers.” We all have research that does not give us the answers we want. We all have brick walls, burned courthouses, missing records, relatives with tight lips and grips who don’t want to share and unsatisfied clients.

Every once in a while I have to stop myself and look back at what I have done, what I have found, where I have been to appreciate what I have going forward. Sometimes a trip down “memory lane” is all that’s needed to refresh, revitalize our genealogical attitude! So this month, get ready to see some of my gratitudes, maybe they are similar to some of your own!