Back to work... (sigh)

Well, folks - my summer is coming to an end. For those who don't know, I'm a teacher, and tomorrow I'll begin my 24th year. It's always tough to give up my summer, and it's become even more so since my nest has been empty and I'm no longer in need of a break from my own children (lol). But tonight, I'm feeling especially melancholy because this summer, rather than facing day upon day (and night upon night) with me, myself, and I - trudging along in this all-consuming passion of genealogy research, I've had all of you - my new blogger friends.

When I first took the leap into blogging (thanks to Luckie), I was sure that I was going to be different from everyone else; unique in my persona and in my approach to the world. I've always been "different" from most of the people around me. I've never felt understood. I don't like being alone, but I've spent a lot of my life that way, and therefore have developed a rather reclusive, somewhat introverted lifestyle, especially of-late. But since I've joined this cadre of researchers, I've begun to feel increasingly at home, like I "belong".

I've realized that those of us who enjoy this kind of work are probably a "personality-type" in ourselves. When I reflect on my childhood, I recall that I was always deeply inquisitive although I was often put off by those I was questioning. Unfortunately, I didn't have a family or community that supported this, so I often heard, "Renate, you ask too many questions!" But I was always one to probe deeply into matters, and I always wanted to to know the why of things! I also recollect that, although my family was not close (and actually was quite disfunctional), I constantly badgered my parents and other relatives about the very issue of FAMILY - always wanting us to do things together, to visit each other, and to take vacations together. I was at my happiest when I was in Louisburg (NC) at my grandmother's, partly because she loved me SO MUCH and I knew it, but also because that was the place where everyone was "cousin this" and "cousin -that". I loved the feeling that it gave me to know that these people (mostly adults) were my kin. At home, I was always the keeper of the family photo albums. I remember being very protective of them from the start. The other thing about my childhood that I recall is that I was always a problem-solver, and I always had the patience and perseverance that was necessary to work on a problem until it was resolved. When I was just very young, people started bringing me their broken watches, clocks, radios, and things like that, and I would open them up and work on them (like I knew what I was doing) until they were fixed. My favorite pasttime was putting together jigsaw puzzles. The hardwood floor in my bedroom made the perfect surface for this work, and was almost always home to a 1000 or 2000 piece puzzle! I loved to read, and I loved to write. I always (for some reason) have paid close attention to spelling, especially of people's names. I could go on and on about the traits that I've noted in my childhood self that I now realize have transferred into making me a perfect fit for the world of genealogy!

Anyway, as usual I've gone on for longer than I'd intended, just to say this: THANK YOU, my dear blog friends for filling the past 6 weeks of my summer with laughter, support, good conversation, and even (today) a little HOPE for the future. I'm sure I'll be rushing home each day to see what I've missed, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up. I tend to eat lunch alone, so I can imagine I'll be peeking in on you guys on my lunch breaks!

For now... for me... it's back.... to.... school.

May God bless and keep you all!

Renate