Why Would a Family History Chart Matter Anyway?

It seems our mortality was front and center this past summer.  Three experiences recently impressed me with the gravity and importance of the industry we work in and the fragility of life.

We had two clients this summer whose dying wish was to print charts for their family members so that they could show their families the research they had worked on.  These clients both wanted to inspire their family members to press forward with preserving their heritage and inspire them with the heritage that had already been collected.  It was alot of pressure for us to come up with something so important to these families.  One of the clients was in and out of the hospital quite a bit.  Obviously, I was more than happy to stay up with him late into the night to finish the design work.  What an honor it is to help with something so important.

Roger Grua's chart for his Mother-in-Law

And then, one of our life-long friends, Roger Grua, lost his beloved wife Marlene this summer.  Roger was a client from 2009 when he and Marlene worked on a beautiful 36x48 chart with over 200 pictures to honor Marlene's mother.  Roger and I enjoyed working on that chart together and I got to know his family quite well.  He was a favored son-in-law after presenting the chart and rightfully so :)  It was a privilege for me to meet with Roger and Marlene at conferences over the years and to meet many of their children and grandchildren.  Roger and Marlene had a beautiful marriage and were such an example of love and light to me.  And it has been both heartbreaking and inspiring to me to watch Roger go through this loss.  He is truly one of the world's greatest men.

We are just so privileged to work with these families.  We always say that genealogists are the best people in the world and they truly are.  It is an honor to remember the lives of these people, near and far and celebrate their loves and their challenges.  We strive every day to be worthy of that trust. 

Hello, Instagram!

Yeah.  I did.  I joined the ranks of Instagram.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I really, really did.  Check it out.  Have no fear though, I won't clog your feed with endless selfies and "duck faces."  Well, maybe one or two every once in a while.  Because, why not? :) But in reality, I had a slightly deeper purpose for creating an Instagram account.  It's all about creating a new tradition of gratitude in my life.

You see, I am online quite a lot for my business and speaking engagements and book promotions and partnerships and so on.  My personal and my business persona are fairly united in my online presence.  And that's all good and wonderful because my business is a huge part of who I am as a person.  But some days, I feel like there is something missing in my online world that is more personal.  And that's when it came to me.  Enter my new Instagram account.  I decided this was a great and easy (hooray for easy!) way for me to keep a gratitude journal.  I hope to post often enough for you to see the things that are the closest to my heart.  I may not be able to take on the 365 day challenge just yet, but I might be able to work my way up to it.  In the mean time, swing by, follow me, check out the things I hold nearest and dearest to me, and leave a comment if you'd like.  Maybe you'll even be reminded of something you are grateful for and you can start up your own gratitude journal in one form or another.