Documenting the Present?

Are you documenting your kid’s life as you go? I thought about this the other day during my boy’s cub scout meeting. I was a cub scout when I was about their age, but all I really remember is going to the meetings and wearing the little blue uniform. I don’t remember what rewards, badges, or accomplishments I earned during that time. I kind of wish I remembered that or had something that told me.  I don’t want my kids, 30 or 40 years from now wondering the same thing. But how should I go about doing this?

We are already keeping some of the patches, belt loops, and certificates in a box, but what if this box gets damaged or lost? I think we need a backup plan. A scrapbook would work, but those are time consuming and have the same possibility of getting lost or damaged as the box. Then it hit me! My genealogy software would work great for that. It has an event process to enter awards, honors, memberships, etc… and I’ve used these for my ancestors but have not been very good at using them for documenting the present.

The boys cub scout and our daughters girl scout advancements and awards fit nicely within this program. I can add pictures of the events and electronic versions of their certificates. This is the perfect backup plan and something I should have been doing all along.

I think we get so caught up in finding out about our ancestors that we forget to think that our descendants are going to want to know about our life. I need to get better in documenting the present accomplishments of our family to help out our future generations who may want to know what we were up to. Remember, the past of the future is the present.

What present moments are you making sure you document? Have there been some that you’ve missed?

Thanks for reading and keep diggin’ for that family.

Chris

Making Memories

We have a little saying between the wife and me and I’m sure many families say the same thing, it’s ‘making memories’. We use that for all the special things we do as a family. We want our kids to have special memories that center around our family that they will hopefully cherish for the rest of their lives.

This past week was a short family vacation centered on two days at Legoland. The kids have been waiting for this since February when we announced we would be going when dad got back from his deployment. These are the kind of ‘family time’ things that both me and the wife thought would make the list of our kids special moments, those ‘making memories’ moments. The kids love it as I am sure all kids do but it surprises me and the wife that these are not the big items in the ‘making memories’ treasure chest of our kids.

I asked my oldest who just turned 7 last month what is his favorite memory, one that makes him very happy. I figured Legoland would come spurting out from his lips without hesitation. But, to my surprise, he hesitated and then said “when you and mom pick me up from school, I really like that”. My jaw probably dropped a little because I did not expect that answer. Like I said, I expected Legoland or the birthday party at the zoo or some other big event.

That got me to thinking about my ‘making memories’ moments from my childhood. I can think of several from family gatherings to trips taken. However, there are three moments that top the charts of my past. First, is the weekends I spent at my grandparents. We never did anything really special or extraordinary. We did basic things together. My grandma taught me to fish for bluegill in Wolverine Lake. Then showed me how to scale and gut them so we could eat them for dinner that night. My grandpa bought me a mini-motorcycle and taught me how to ride it. I could spend hours out in the yard riding that thing in circles. The second of my moments are the camping trips with my mom and dad and the camping club we belonged to. For the year or two that we belonged to that club I think we went out at least one weekend every other month or so during the camping season. My dad worked many hours and usually seven days a week so he usually was not there to get the camper to the park and set it up so my mom and I had to get it done. Mostly mom because I am sure I was not that much help because I sure don’t remember being any. But, other members of the camping club were always there to lend a hand. My dad would get there after work and finish up. It was at one of these camping trips that I decided I was too fast and my dad couldn’t catch me anymore. Boy, was I wrong and it is only now, after I have gained some years that I realize what he knew at that time, experience makes up for youth and speed.

There is one memory from my childhood that will always be the tops of my list for ‘making memories’. This is no vacation or big event. I mentioned that my dad worked long hours and usually seven days a week so obviously I did not get much time with him. He always took his lunch to work and had a lunch box. On his way home from work he would stop at a store and pick up a candy bar for me and put it in his lunch box. Thinking back, it is not the candy bar that is the great memory for me, it is that little act that told me that he loved me and was always thinking about me.

My eyes are now a little more open to what our kids may think are those special moments and what they will pack away in their ‘making memories’ treasure chest. It is not necessarily that extravagant and fun-filled family vacation to Legoland. It may be something as simple as picking your child up from school so they don’t have to take the bus or bringing them a treat after work.

Think back to your childhood, what are your ‘making memory’ moments? Are you writing them down so they are around longer than you? Will your kids have the same special memories?

Thanks for reading and keep diggin’ for that family.

Chris

Technorati Tags: Memories,Vacations,Family History,Genealogy

Blood is not Always Thicker when it comes to Family

Should the lines of adoptive parents and even significant people in your lives that are not ‘blood’ relatives be included in your research? I’m sure there is debate among family historians whether they should be included or not. I have come across this in my own family history research and thought about that question. I even went as far as to try to find the official answer. After googling and looking at some views I decided I did not have to search for the official answer because the answer to that is personal and can be different for every family historian.

First, my wife’s father was adopted. In fact, another post of mine is my search for his Uncle’s story, 2nd Lt. William Capen. We often say my brother was adopted also but that is another story. Second, on my side of the family, my grandpa was not my mom’s biological father. He wasn’t even married to my grandmother. However, he is the only grandpa I every knew. So, that is how I came about this dilemma on who to include in my research. And actually, after much thought, the answer was quite easy, at least for me.

My grandfather, Richard Almer Lindsay, had a profound impact on my life and I was very close to him. He died in 1987 but I often think of him and miss him dearly to this day. In fact, just writing this and thinking about him brings a tear to my eye. Some of what makes me who I am today is because of who he was and how he impacted my life. The morals and character traits that he passed on to me were passed on to him by his family. That made the decision easy for me and I research his lines and include them in my tree. He is just as much a part of my family as my genetic grandfather, whom I never met.

The second part of this is whether to include adoptive parents or even the real parents of someone who was adopted. I think the decision is just as easy for the same reasons as I state above. Who you are and what you have become was passed on to you by your adoptive parents and they got those traits from their family. My wife’s Aunt, who was adopted, agrees. In an email to my wife discussing the same dilemma, she says “the attitudes, values, and views of the world came from George and Vera, thus, the people we are is what they created.” George and Vera are the adoptive parents of my wife’s father and aunt, so the grandparents of my wife.

I don’t think there is any question on including biological parents even if they gave up their child for adoption. That is genealogy.

I said that the decision in both cases was easy for me but it may not be that easy for someone else, which leads me to this final section. When I started to do a little research on the topic of this post I came across a post from The Genealogue published back in 2007. This particular post is talking about the debate of being a genealogist or a family historian but takes an angle from adoption, which is what my post here is all about. I’m not going to tell you all the post because you can read it for yourself (if you couldn’t then you wouldn’t be reading this one). However, the author poses a question towards the end of his post that should help anyone answer the question whether they should include adopted lines in their genealogy or family history. He asks “What's the point of genealogy and family history research?” If you answer this question then you will know whether to include that ancestor from an adopted line or, as in my case, who is not a ‘blood’ relative.

Until next time, keep diggin’ up your family

Chris

Sunset photo by: El_Eduardo

 

©Copyright 2011 – Christopher Shaw

Technorati Tags: Genealogy,Family History,Adoption,Non-blood Relatives