Upon a mid February morning, nothing calms me more than the opportunity to organize and reflect. Well, there are other things, but today it is this. And while I am still catching up with my photo challenges, I am forced to think about the stories that never get told. There's a million of them. Generations of them. My cousin, Bev and I had a conversation last night that made me realize why I am such a history nut. I am sure this story has been told before, but it was my first time hearing it and falling head over heels in love with it.
Have you ever met a genealogist?My mother raised me in archival institutions and cemetery records, researching our ancestors. She is a DATES girl. Then there is me. I took away LOTS from those crazy graveyard hopping vacations from Gettysburg to Alamance Co., NC. Becoming a DATES girl was NOT one of them. It wasn't until Bev turned my UNDERSTANDING around that I was able to recognize I am NOT a DATES girl, but a DASH girl.You see, everyone has a lifespan. You can build a timeline for any one person who has spent time on the Earth. It's typical to find some dates that begin at a birth and end with a death. Brandan would say Abraham Lincoln's life was 1809-1863. But if you go back and look at those numbers once more...do you see that DASH? That's me. I'm the one who wants to know the LIFE LIVED. The numbers are, undoubtedly, important BUT if you don't have the stories in between...
You see?
I like being a DASH girl.
I just wish I could dedicate more time to it.
I think, eventually, Brandan will be like this too...being able to UNDERSTAND the stories that we were not there to witness and play part of. We have the control to tell all the stories we know, and for that our kids will always know as much as we do.
We won't let them forget.
Then there are the stories that we have yet to uncover. Some we may never know. But at least we are able to look into eyes and discover family traits or simple characteristics. For this we are thankful.
Other stories we have to listen for. Or plot out...
Aly's name was not pulled out of an encyclopedia's worth of the common household variety. Liza Alice, her great grandmother, will follow her everywhere she records, writes, or inscribes Alyce Ilyza.
-----------------
Although quick, Uncle Tom and Aunt Earline's visit left me with a few new thoughts, some more interesting stories, and and the perseverance to continue on our journalistic journey of generations...
...past, present, and future.
--------------------
Promising to catch up with some more...
....Joy of Love...
You should soon see: LOVE from the HEART
Have you ever met a genealogist?My mother raised me in archival institutions and cemetery records, researching our ancestors. She is a DATES girl. Then there is me. I took away LOTS from those crazy graveyard hopping vacations from Gettysburg to Alamance Co., NC. Becoming a DATES girl was NOT one of them. It wasn't until Bev turned my UNDERSTANDING around that I was able to recognize I am NOT a DATES girl, but a DASH girl.You see, everyone has a lifespan. You can build a timeline for any one person who has spent time on the Earth. It's typical to find some dates that begin at a birth and end with a death. Brandan would say Abraham Lincoln's life was 1809-1863. But if you go back and look at those numbers once more...do you see that DASH? That's me. I'm the one who wants to know the LIFE LIVED. The numbers are, undoubtedly, important BUT if you don't have the stories in between...
You see?
I like being a DASH girl.
I just wish I could dedicate more time to it.
I think, eventually, Brandan will be like this too...being able to UNDERSTAND the stories that we were not there to witness and play part of. We have the control to tell all the stories we know, and for that our kids will always know as much as we do.
We won't let them forget.Then there are the stories that we have yet to uncover. Some we may never know. But at least we are able to look into eyes and discover family traits or simple characteristics. For this we are thankful.
Other stories we have to listen for. Or plot out...
Aly's name was not pulled out of an encyclopedia's worth of the common household variety. Liza Alice, her great grandmother, will follow her everywhere she records, writes, or inscribes Alyce Ilyza.-----------------
Although quick, Uncle Tom and Aunt Earline's visit left me with a few new thoughts, some more interesting stories, and and the perseverance to continue on our journalistic journey of generations...
...past, present, and future.--------------------
Promising to catch up with some more...
....Joy of Love...You should soon see: LOVE from the HEART
3 comments:
i love the "dash" explination :) ... that might be me too, i love the stories behind the pictures
Great story. This is the first of two challenges that I have skipped. (They other is Whey they're home). I'm trying to decide what I want to photograph. It's tough! Glad you are the family historian and are documenting the HERE AND NOW for your future generations!
Oooh, love this theory...you are most definitely a dash girl!!! I think I am too..I wanna capture it all:)
P.S. I totally see Aly in her Great Grandma!!!
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