Yesterday I was talking/laughing with some friends about ancestors! They were interested in trying to find a lost cousin and that made me think about my own history.
Now there's a really good library here in Tulsa where you can go to do such research and we made a tentative promise to "one day" check it out. I supposed it's important to know your family history...genes and all. And it is true we are a product of those that have gone before. My fathers family came from Finland. Yep, Grandpa Thompson came over on the boat and promptly changed his Finnish name to one that can be pronounced without busting into hysterial laughter. (don't ask!)
We've often planned/dreamed/joked about visiting the "old country". That plan is always ditched when someone reminds us that "there's a reason our ancestors left that place." No doubt the weather had something to do with it in that situation.
We are also products of our own personal past and experiences both goood and bad. Lots of folks I know carry around so much "old baggage" that it's very difficult to function in TODAY. It's that blending of nurture vs. nature that makes us unique. Either way, both are history. I'm convinced that what's gone on before or where our ancestors lived and worked is not nearly as important as where we're going today, tomorrow or for that fact, where we'll spend eternity! Now, that's a question that must be answered!
So, I'll probably poke around in the dust of yesteryears a little bit, but probably won't stay there very long. Maybe I'll go to the flea market and pick up some old pictures of complete strangers, put them in a scrapbook and declare them "ancestors". I could name those folks, make up stories and entertain my family.
I could even tell my friend that I found her a cousin!! That complete waste of time and energy might rank right up there with a subscription to ancestry.com
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