Stick a Fork in Me… I’m Done!

Okay!  That’s it! I am sorry to say, but this “new normal” has finally broken me. The endless work from home (both in my profession and now as a “substitute” teacher for my children’s online learning), combined with reduced physical activity and the loss of “me” time has sapped my energy and stripped away my sanity. I am throwing in the towel and pleading uncle, “I give!”

Because of this $@%! coronavirus, my creativity has gone to crap. Consequently, I have decided to stop participating in this year’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Although I am bummed that I could not continue this endeavor, the constant research and creating connections to sometimes obscure writing prompts have made this challenge… well, challenging.

So, for the remainder of 2020, I will be focusing on pre-planned stories, personal pieces, and book reviews. Hopefully, y’all will stick with me as I go back to my blog’s tried-and-true topics.

As always, thank you for reading and commenting on my posts. You guys are the best!  So, until my next post, may you and your loved ones stay safe and stay sane.

Black Sheep or Lost Lamb?

To quote Britney Spears, “Oops, I did it again!” I missed Week 33 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge. Darn it! And last week’s writing prompt was a really interesting one too: Black Sheep. I would really hate skipping that. At the same time, I find this Week 34’s challenge, Chosen Family, quite intriguing. I wonder… What if I combine the two challenges into one? Is there a family member who was both a “black sheep” and had a “chosen family”?

Yes, there is. But before I introduce this black sheep/chosen family individual, let me tell you a bit of backstory first…

The Old Country: Lombardia, Italia

Although it is now Week 31 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge, I am skipping both this week’s writing prompt (Large) and next week’s prompt (Small). Instead, I will be blogging about last week’s challenge, The Old Country. (Yeah, time just got away from me… again. SMH!)

Lloyd Wilbur Cole

It is Week 29 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge. However, before I present this week’s post, I have to apologize for missing the last two weeks’ writing prompts.

Let me tell you what happened. When I first read Week 27’s writing prompt, Solo, I thought that it was “Sole” and began researching/writing accordingly. (I was going to write my spouse’s Soule predecessors.) It was not until the last day of the challenge that I realized that I had misread the word. Sole was, in fact, solo, so I was S.O.L. with no time to spare and no inspiration to be had.

But instead of frantically scrambling and needlessly fretting in the eleventh hour, I decided to take a “vacation” from writing, especially considering that I was not taking a “real” vacation this year. (Darn you, COVID!). And since I typically take two weeks off, Week 28’s prompt, Multiple, was sacrificed to the staycation god as well.

So here I am, two weeks later, a bit more rested and little less stressed. So, without further adieu, let’s tackle Week 29’s writing prompt: Newsworthy. And boy, do I have a “newsworthy” character for you!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Middle

We are halfway through the year 2020 and midway through the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge, which is why this most recent writing prompt, Middle, seems quite appropriate.

Middle? Hmm…What “middle” should I write about? Should I write about Middlekauft cousins or Middleton kin, none of whom are direct ancestors? Perhaps I should feature towns and counties in which our ancestors resided whose names contain “middle”, like Middletown or Middlesex? After much deliberation, I decided to highlight the Middle Colonies and a few ancestors who were some of its earliest settlers.