Family. You can't pick 'em.
Sometimes you luck out and they're all just delightful.
Think about some of your more -ahem- "eclectic" family members (you know who I'm talking about!)
Now picture spending an entire holiday with them.
Yeah, yeah...it's great to spend time with family, and you'll cherish these memories one day. But, what about those hours after the table is cleared? You feel guilty because you're not visiting enough - you're not taking advantage of the time together.
You're trying to stay awake and challenge yourself to decline that slice of homemade apple pie Aunt Mary keeps offering. Everyone is crammed around a table or on the couch, trying to stay awake after a large meal. Uncle Ted is showing off his magic tricks. Grandpa Fred snoring on the couch with the football game blaring.
Imagine you've prepared for this moment, and you bring out a binder filled with fascinating family history, depicting the lives of your ancestors. You've garnered the attention of everyone in the house, and now they're sitting around the living room, listening to you read about the Civil War service of your great-great-great-grandfather. Maybe there's even a picture of his military service record and a written statement of his request for veteran's pension after the War.
It prompts Grandpa Fred to talk of his time in Vietnam, and then Uncle Ted shares some stories from his service during Operation Desert Storm. Aunt Mary is inspired to tell of her mother, and how she went to work in a local factory after her husband went off to serve in World War II.
The stories flow. These are memories that will last a lifetime. You feel closer to your ancestors, and to the people sitting around that living room. Your mom runs to the closet and pulls out a box of old photos she inherited from her grandmother. There are names faintly marked on the back, but she never knew just how she was related to them. She glances at the family tree outline in the binder - and the mystery is solved.
Let BoomerAim help craft a family history package for you. It may not keep the craziness away from your holidays, but it'll surely inspire quality conversation and create new memories.
**no ancestors were harmed in the making of this article - or in the attached photograph, which depicts an actual relative of my mother-in-law.
Happy Holidays!