Two Of Six

(The SECOND of six interesting/quirky/random things about me.)

Because of my interest in genealogy, I love to make family trees.  I can fill in my own completely for 5 generations, and incompletely lots further back. 

I made my parents this really huge one for Christmas, which you can see in a larger file here.  It includes all the full names & birth dates that I had available (and that would fit in the frame). 

My parents are the main branches that meet at the trunk, and the date in the middle is their wedding anniversary.  The tiny twigs on the tree are birth dates, and the 'fruits' under the tree are my brothers and I, along with our spouses and children, grouped into families.  I also made smaller trees for my husband's parents and for his sister & her husband.

The process itself takes a lot of cutting & gluing of tiny slips of paper, but it is surprisingly fun to me.  I say 'surprisingly' because I typically don't like tedious processes that require lots of patience and attention to detail.  But as I handle each person's name, it captivates me, and I try to imagine the person and what kind of life he or she lived.  The people come alive to me, so that even though I didn't know them in person, I have learned their names.  

Maybe someday in the afterlife, I'll overhear someone being introduced as Elijah Strong Nichols or Stella Victoria Collins and run over to meet them.  I'll say, "Hi! I'm your great-great grandaughter."  And to Stella, I'll say, "My daughter shares your birthday!"   And they'll say, of course, "Well, we know that sweetie. It's so good to see you!"