*I wrote this February 5, 2020, prior to the pandemic. Like almost everything else in life, my genealogy and other plans for 2020 and what actually happened were daylight and dark. However, we are both extremely fortunate to be healthy, safe, and working from home.
Nothing about doing genealogy well is quick or easy. Having spent a decade or so fumbling around with my tree, research, and DNA, I think I can just now call myself “familiar” with what genealogy is and what genealogists actually do.
I like the discovery, problem solving, and “connecting the dots” parts of the craft, assuming you can find dots to connect in the universe of stars. However, I’m not a detail-oriented person, and there are many traps, pitfalls, and the inevitable and frustrating “brick-walls.”
As much of a people-person as I think I am, I feel like I still need to communicate better. Finding study buddies and at least one ideally more people per line or branch will help you quite a bit, and is something I’ve been better at recently.
I was inspired to write a post after receiving an email reply from a member of the California Mayflower Society, having asked where I should start looking for my ancestor (assuming I have one). Essentially I got “you’re on your own kid” but they also said “Sometimes they just fall out of the hamper.”
This I have to see. I didn’t get upset at this comment though. I just took it in stride (older person humor maybe?). I’ll ask around and see if someone at my “local” family history center can help out.