Everyday Women, Everyday Lives

In celebration of Women’s History Month, March’s 12 Ancestors in 12 Months writing prompt is Females.

For more than 12 years, I have written about hundreds of women in our combined family trees, many of them found in the pages of history books. In this post, I wanted to focus on everyday women—ten to them to be exact—who died in March. Although these women lived simpler lives than our more famous forebearers, their lives were important nonetheless, especially to those of us who proudly call them ”family.“

Same Trunks, Different Branches

Thank goodness that I had a whole month to do my 12 Ancestors in 12 Months post because this one took a whole lot longer than I expected.

February’s writing prompt, Branching Out, got me thinking about the limbs and offshoots of our family trees. Although I, like most genealogists, often focus on direct ancestors, as evidenced by this blog, I occasionally scale branches of our indirect relatives, discovering distant cousins amongst the twigs.

12 Ancestors in 12 Months: Foundations

As I stated at the start of 2022, my New Year’s resolution is to blog more about our families’ history. With that intent in mind, I accepted genealogist Amy Johnson Crow’s “lighter” writing challenge, not 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks but the more achievable 12 Ancestors in 12 Months.

At first, January’s writing prompt, Foundations, had me stumped. Naturally, what first came to mind was construction. Did we have ancestors who erected buildings? Sadly, other than family farmers who raised barns; one uncle who poured concrete; another uncle, a great-uncle, and a grandfather who painted houses; and a father who installed plumbing and flipped houses as some of his many jobs/pastimes, I could not determine anyone in the past who had labored in construction.

Think, think, think… Suddenly, inspiration struck. Why not write about someone whose historical impact is still felt today? A “great” person who not only built an empire but also helped forge the foundation of today’s Europe… Charlemagne.

New Year, New Challenge

Each new year brings the hope of a new beginning. And with new beginnings come new resolves. Normally, I am not one to make resolutions, as too often life gets in the way, or as Robert Burns sagely said, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley.”

Sadly, my plans have gone awry way too much lately, so this year’s resolution will be doable, or as my mother advises, I will do it with a KISS, “Keep it simple, stupid!”

For 2022, I resolve to write more genealogical posts. As I shared earlier this week, 2021 was a down year in many ways, including creatively. As a result, my blog suffered: fewer posts equaled less traffic, fewer comments… just less overall. 

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.