It's Thanksgiving time again, a time for family get-togethers. I hope that your time together might allow for some story-telling by the elder family members, maybe a look at some photos, or a chance to interview someone who knows a great deal about our ancestors.
We shouldn't waste these precious times with parents and grandparents for many reasons. But how I wish I had talked with my grandparents about their early years, what they remember about their own parents or grandparents, who was in the photo on the piano, why a particular vase or bowl was always seen during the holidays but otherwise put away, why anyone would want to eat lutefisk.
I'm particularly thankful for my new and renewed connection with family members. Cousins I haven't seen or talked with in years, uncles and aunts, first cousins once removed, and second cousins. I'm thankful that, for the last couple of years of her life, my mom read this blog and was able to contribute when I had a question. I appreciate the comments and questions that always kept me thinking and doing more research.
But I think that the time has come to close the blog. I've written about most of our direct-line ancestors, a few famous people, tragic deaths, lost ancestors, soldiers, long, difficult travels, and more. I've learned so much more about my family from writing this blog, but I've exhausted most of our unique people, along with the places in which they lived and the travels they took.
Instead, I'm going to try to clean up my office, organize the rest of my files, scan more photos and documents, and enjoy writing small stories that I probably will post on my Ancestry.com page.
My family, you know how to reach me. You have my email and/or phone, and I hope you will reach out. I'd hate to see our reconnections stop. And for those who have found this blog and enjoyed it, I'm happy to hear from you through a comment on these last few pages. Maybe we can find a way to share information about our common ancestors.
If you have an ancestry.com account, please visit my page: ancestor footprints. There, I've included details about my ancestors, information that will stay up for you and future generations to enjoy.
I'm not quite done yet. Look for a few more posts to take us to the end of another year.
Giving thanks for each of you!
Diane
Max, Colton, Penny
Testing.
ReplyDeleteWith greatest sincerity, i want to thank Diane for her blog. Her research and skilled communication in writing has brought our family history alive. Thank you, and i am on a mission to reread from the beginning.
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