Words Rhonda Todrick
Perhaps, as one approaches the final chapter of their life, euphemistically the “winter of their years,” they can pause and reflect on all the springs that reside in their family tree.
How many new beginnings did your ancestors experience? Weddings, births, new jobs, new homes, new countries … so many exciting beginnings. But, within the branches of that tree also live many, many other stories which have been lost through generations.
Prior to the explosion of digital knowledge and prior to “google” becoming a verb, our exploration of ancestors relied on hard research such as visiting graveyards, visiting previous homesteads, exploring census records and seeking church records. Now, with a click of the mouse, we can build a family tree from one of many genealogy websites.
While you may now have the ability to trace your ancestors back to a country of origin or back many centuries, what does that really tell you? They become a name and “a line on the tree.” I am more interested with the history and the stories this tells of the trials and tribulations previous generations experienced.
On my mother’s side, her ancestors had to flee France during the Huguenot uprising of the 1620s when Protestants were being massacred simply because of their religion. I think of the fear, the loss of family and friends and the overwhelming strength it must have taken to decide to leave their homeland to find a new, safe home. What was their journey like, crossing the Atlantic in ships of those times? What did they find upon landing in the Americas? How do you create a new life from nothing and knowing no one?
So, as I spend a bit of time researching my own beginnings, those questions are at the back of my mind. Creating a vision board of my ancestors must not be a simple line on the tree but rather a crazy quilt of stories, feelings and emotions. The concept is much simpler than the process, however, as all those elements that could have stitched together a rich garment are long forgotten.
It is with this concept in mind that I urge each of you to share your story, your feelings and what it means to be you at this moment in time. You may feel no one is listening, or that anyone in your family cares to hear about your day-to-day existence. Instead of bedtime stories with your grandchildren, share stories and remembrances from your childhood. Instead of small talk at family gatherings, share your feelings about the world and about what family connections mean to you. Your existence matters and centuries from now, you will have been a part of creating a wonderful family quilt of memories that matter. You will not be just a line on the tree.
