FAMILY HISTORY

KENNETH E. HALL     July 16, 2016 / Revised July 16, 2018    HOUSTON

FAMILY HISTORY

I love both Genealogy and Family History. Yes, they are two separate yet often intertwined subjects. Genealogy studies the who, the what, the when and the where. It rarely asks - or answers the WHY?

It's a almost endless litany of who begat whom, who begat whom and so forth. It's a plethora of information such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, notorial acts, and endless rows of tombstones. But with all that data, it does not touch upon the HUMANITY of the persons involved.

Nevertheless, it's fascinating, at least to me.

Family History, on the other hand, brings our passed relatives to mind by telling the stories of what kind of people they were, and what they did between the day they were born and the day they died. It says how, and often answer the question "WHY?"

So, I guess you could say that Genealogy, like a date inscribed upon a tombstone , says they were born on this date. Then there's a dash, and they died on that date. Family History tells what happened during the dash!

I'm very busy these days. I find little time to do any genealogy, even though I'm recently retired, and figured that by now I'd be surrounded by binders and albums, sitting in front of a computer searching for those who have died long, long ago. Likewise, I have little free time to write, and it's a challenge just to maintain my blog. Sadly, I have even less time to read. I've also been meaning to clean out the shed and storeroom, too, to unclutter our lives. 

I figured that surely once I retire, I'd get around to all those things.

That's what I THOUGHT, anyway......

Then or one or two of my children or thei spouse drops by, quiet often accompanied by one or more grandchildren, and off goes the computer, I put my binders and photo albums back on the shelf, and join the merry confusion that home life brings. It's just that, with all this family around, it's tough find time to get anything else done.... 

And I can't think of anything more important than family - the little ones and the not-so-little ones ...and there is nothing I rather do!!! Rather than researching Family History, I would much prefer devoting my time to MAKING family history.

The more I live, the more I find life to be less and less about me, and more and more about everyone and everything else. Perhaps that's the way that it should be. 

I get to thinking that maybe old folks don't ever really die — they just fade away quietly into the memories and the hearts and minds of those they leave behind, and their love is passed on from generation to generation.

When I became a father four decades ago, I  asked to be able to see our children grow, and to see what they would become, and I have... and I am most pleased. But more than that, I am grateful that I can be a big part of my children's and grandchildren's lives. After all, they won't be small all the time. They grow up so fast! 

So even though I can't delve into my family's past as much as I'd like, I fully realize how lucky and blessed I am that I have a PRESENT a well as a PAST, which also means there is a family FUTURE.

When I retired, a co-worker gave me a little sign. It reads: "LIFE IS NOW IN SESSION", so if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to it, cause life is just a little while.