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Children, collaborate, family history, family stories, Good Lord, Granny, history, Hoosiers, Indiana, Irish, March, Patrick, Saint Patrick's Day, Writers Resources
this little cutie is from the image collections available on The Old Design Shop web page
This is not my favorite month. Maybe its a wee bit’o jealousy because the only Irish in my family’s DNA runs through my husband’s side of the equation. St Patrick’s Day has always been a fun day of green beer and sheepish pretense.
I’m not Irish, but kiss me or pinch me anyway! I do have green eyes though…the better to be “pea green with envy” with my dear…
Perhaps my disdainful attitude toward March is more about the weather here in the heartland. Good Lord what a ride! I, like many Hoosiers, dream of retirement in the desert, any desert. A place where the humidity level rarely flinches. Here, my sinus cavity is under a constant state of attack with it’s little faucet running full on, then suddenly dried up to a painful pinching sensation, only to find a tortured relief in the post-nasal agony of the drip..drip..drip. Yep, Indiana weather~ if you don’t like it ~ stick around for an hour, it’ll change.
Regardless of the snow, no snow, shorts and t-shirt weather and/or tornado laden skies outside, we Family Historians must push on. For that end, I offer you Mom’s Monthly Must-Dos for March~
1. Do something really nice for yourself this month~ begin a little achievement journal. Nothing big and fancy (unless you just crave that kind of candy…I don’t judge). This can be as simple as making a to-do list on your calendar at the beginning of the week, and then checking off the “done-did-its” as you go. It’s a gift to give yourself. Mark down exciting (to you) stuff that happens on that day: Found cousin Dehlia’s Christmas card with her contact info under the sofa cushion…bonus…also cleared the underside of all sofa cushions!
During points of drought over the seeker’s field, these can be reviewed to help you re-inspire yourself.. RahRah Me!
2. Start getting the kids involved. This is a great time to plan and gather. Spring break car travel-time looms, or being stuck at home with “bored” loved ones. Instead of hiding inside your head, invite them to start their own spiffy project. Call in the cousins for support and reinforcement. If you would like to see a shining example of what a kid’s book can look like click the link and visit Raelyn of Telling Family Tales…all her little book projects are fringed with magnificence. You don’t have to be this elaborate, just drink it in for inspiration ~ http://tellingfamilytales.com/2013/03/04/when-he-was-young/
3. Toward the end of the month, send out another “mailing” to let everyone know you are still working on this project (call it the “story of us” or something clever and inclusive). Include a little crumb of “reactive bait” like a photo, or a couple of little questions (as we did on the Musky fishing trips of February’s Must-Dos). If you have been lucky enough to elicit a response or two from the last letter binge…build on it. I find that others are kinda generous with sharing scans of photos, and that they love telling me about how much fun it was “digging thru the dusty boxes with mum” but, they don’t really convey the meat of that to me.
Human nature
So, I then start feeding back to them…hey, that pic of Granny and Harry, where do you think that was taken? Do you know about when? What the heck were they doing there?
Then, it never hurts to throw in something utterly stupid (this is a great technique to get info…everyone loves “correcting” me). Ask a questions that you are sure you know the answer to ~
Say something really, profoundly, ignorant…”Did Harry have any bothers?” This would be a good one if in fact, Harry comes from a brood of 10-12 assorted gender children, or was the younger brother of a famous prize-fighter, or was adopted as an infant or etc. You aren’t fishing for muskies, you’re fishing for conversation….clever little darling that you are
Have fun with March where ever the weather and the “stupid questions” land you, and I hope you get kissed on St Paddy’s day too!
xoxo
Mom
I hate March, too. Too many “toos”… too long, too stormy, too gray! Alas, me very own husband is too Irish – his mother, she was a McGuinness and proud of it. She’d send her youngest a card full of cheesy jokes and five dollars to “have a Guinness on her.” We celebrate it with a huge meal and, in the spirit of his ancestors, reuse the decorations from the previous year. Yup, that includes the green crepe paper.
Oh, I so need to send you some of this snow (29 degrees & winds gusting to 35-40. BURrrrr… I am in Connecticut, facing the Long Island Sound. What Long Island don’t get, we get the left overs. I am from Nebraska, I know about that nose job. LOL You have a Great Weekend. By the way, Tuesday will be in the 60′s, go figure?
I’m with you on the not-Irish bit. It’s all my husband’s doing, too, as far as the DNA part of it goes…though I was raised being told my father’s family was Irish, only to discover long after that generation was gone that it was a fraud! They were really Polish! And where does that leave me? Still willing to celebrate!
I also hate March. It’s good to know that there are others who feel the same way about it. I always feel like the weather should be beautiful–but it generally seems like it is snowy, cold, wet. . .
Dear Mom, In the vein of March, I found an news article that made me think of you, or at least an idea of melding family historians and newspapers. Just a thought. Sending you sunshine and 80 degree weather from the Southwest!
There’s no Irish in me either, but a lot of English. So, what this “Limey” did one year was wear orange. (I suggest if you do this, be ready to get a lot of arguments and put up your ‘dukes.’) LOL
It is on! That’s hilarious!
My youngest son went outside the other morning and ran back in, “Why is the weather so bi-polar?” Because it’s Texas in March, son. Thankfully, no snow. Although… several years ago, we got 3 inches, in April.
My only Irish ancestors were Scottish squatters who were run out by the natives.
oh Christy!
If you could just be in my head and see the Scots squatting in their Kilts and being tossed around by Leprechauns…that would be party enough!
Hahahahaha!
Hello, I really enjoying your blog and pictures of your family and life history. I wanted to share some info. with you.
I read “Writers Digest” every month at my local library. Do you read this magazine? I read an article in the March/April edition and thought immediately of you and wanted to share what I found.
The article was titled…”Family History meets Memoir” It appears on page 32 and outlines 5 ways that you can turn all your hard work at documenting your family history into a published memoir. It was written by Rebecca McClanahan. She has written memoirs and shares how to go about publishing what you have.
Reading this article made me think of you because your blog is so entertaining and it’s very interesting. Memoris are pretty popular now…maybe you could pursue this avenue as well? Just a thought.
Have a great day!
Wow Claudine, how nice of you to think about my blogging: ) I’ll be sure to check that out!
I’ve got a little bit of Irish on my fathers side but i don’t know much about it, i think that willl be my next pet project! also I Just wanted to let you knowI’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award you can view your nomination here; http://genealogydiscovery.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/libster-award/
What a delight this is. Indiana and Kansas (and Colorado) have the same philosophy about just waiting awhile for the weather to change.
Your three things to do are great! That’s the way to get through March ~ and I love the “ask a question you’re sure you know the answer to.”
I liked your achievement journal idea. Since March is almost gone, I’ll carry it into April. I’m Hazel, the other half of the Keyhole Conversations blog.