Unveiling Your Roots

He was a healthy man in his early seventies and no one saw it coming.  The death of my father-in-law happen so suddenly that it threw everyone for loop.  All I kept thinking about was that he’d only met his youngest grandaughter once.  I had wish there was more time.  Unfortunately, tragedy can strike at any point.  My daughter was (and still is) way too young to understand.  So her father and I made a decision to keep her in daycare, while we attended the services.

When it comes to funerals, I’m never quite comfortable.  But for some reason, this one was different.  After meeting some of my husbands relatives for the first time, I felt motivated to learn about the family’s heritage.  I always knew of his Irish and German background, but who would have thought there was so much more to discover?  It will take me forever to write everything down.  So I won’t bore you with every nook and cranny.

My cousin-in-laws have been documenting their relatives through ancetry.com.  I learned that my great great father-in-law moved to the U.S. from Germany and changed his last time, after becoming estranged from his family.  He later started his own clan in New York, and a few generations later my hubby came into the world.

One day Princess will learn all about her many greats including her grandfather who was an avid bowler and managed a local bowling alley.

With the help of my mother-in-law, I’ve been able to collect pictures of Princess’s ancestors.

It’s one of the best presents I can ever give her.  The gift of knowing her heritage.  It’s not to – in any way – discount my side of the family.  It’s a lot more difficult to trace that far back into my roots.  But I make it a point to involve my immediate family as much as possible.  Most of  my relatives still reside out of state, and abroad.  So having a blog helps them stay in touch with what’s going on in our lives.  I also collect pictures and other documents that she will later be able to have.  Princess will one day learn about her mama’s migration to the U.S. from Jamaica as well as her daddy’s life in America.

 She’ll also learn all about her grandparents’ wedding day, as well as the home grandma and daddy grew up.  Some day she may even get to visit my mom’s childhood home in Jamaica.

Right now Princess has a close relationship with both of her grandmothers.

I hope that by learning about her forefathers, my baby girl will appreciate her diverse culture.  She’s also develop an understanding of the many different ethnicities that exist in the world we live in.  I think having a global perspective is key to knowing her personal identity.  We still have so much more to uncover in our journey to unveil our roots.  I hope your encouraged to unveil your own.  Your kids will thank you for it.