Have you peeked into the Pearly Gates or Spent a Little Time on their Porch

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Have you peeked into the Pearly Gates or Spent a Little Time on the Porch

Dying on the vine is not how any of us want to leave this world and being remembered for something we've done or contributed is a good way to begin the last leg of your journey to the Pearly Gates. That said, one thing I personally wanted to wrap up was what started as merely answering a couple questions for my kids, their kids and grandkids but quickly snowballed. I thought being able to tell them how and when our direct ancestors came to this country is my inroads into the questions about how my family came to America and when to pass along to my descendants.

The more I got into the tedious research and challenges of the sites I visited, the more I was smitten and wished we'd been taught history this way vs merely remembering dates of wars. More importantly, confirming information I soon realized is a big challenge and can lead one down a path not even relevant to our own heritage and thus waste time and energy.  As a result, that took me on a journey of more research into history to ultimately tie in the missing pieces of the puzzle of why and how my ancestors lived their lives.

I was more interested in recounting the lore and history than merely dates of birth; dates of death and occasionally a perk with information about the date of a marriage. The farther back I got, the more I appreciated what our ancestors went through and had to overcome. This \appreciation turned to awe when I dove into a more detailed history of our first permanent English colony - Jamestown, and found a connection. 

If you haven't caught the genealogy bug yet, 2026 may be the very path to new discoveries that stir passion into your new year to make you a more interested and therefore interesting person. For you and yours. Happy New Year!