Balancing Life, Health, Work and Family Through the Generations

This past year brought unexpected challenges to my life. Lately, I've been reflecting on my ancestors and how they balanced life, health, work and family...the same challenges we each face today. How did they manage in a world where medical and techonogical advances (we often take for granted) simply didn't exist? How did they have the fortitude to survive...and even thrive?

I've wondered if they ever felt angry or frustrated as they navigated the ups and downs of life. How did so many of the early generations find the courage to leave their home country (or state) and set off in search of a new and hopefully better life? If they'd known the challenges their lives would be filled with, would they have made different choices? Or were they happy with how their lives turned out, perhaps counting their blesssing every time they saw another sunrise? My father used to say "any day you're looking down at the ground, instead of up, is a good day." 

The lives of my ancestors help me find balance in my own life. Researching them provides a sense of fulfillment, and it reminds me to be thankful for all I have. Though I've had to scale back in the recent months, I'd be devastated if I couldn't continue my genealogical journey. I'm very thankful for all the people and websites who make researching from home possible. As genealogists and family researchers, we're so fortunate to have access to so many repositories of information. It's hard to imagine how much data is sill uncataloged, patiently waiting to be revealed to us, little by little in the years to come!

This past year, Ancestry tells me I added 579 people to my tree,  All but 25 people in my tree have some kind of record attached. I reviewed thousands of hints in 2024. I was thrilled to satisfactorily confirm several new direct ancestors. And Ancestry's ThruLines even turned up a tantalizing breadcrumb...a potential sibling or half-sibling, in my search for Abijah, the ancestor who started my journey. I was also excited to see (on 23andMe) I now have 10 confirmed ancient DNA matches, all to the Viking era. 

As we approach the end of 2024, and look forward to 2025, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. While we come from all different corners of the world, the genealogy community feels like a big extended family. I'm thankful genealogy is a part of my life. Happy Re searching!!

Image by No-longer-here from Pixabay