Knowing Who We Are

At one time or another we all have wondered about a relative that we heard stories about, but never had the chance to meet.  For me, the stories my grandmother told me about her father really made me wonder what this man looked like.  I had an image of him in my mind, but had never seen a photo of him.  I knew that he must have been quite a handsome man since my grandmother had told me that I looked a bit like him.  I had asked to see photos of him, but my grandmother always said that they were packed away and that she would look for them later.  Sadly, later never came.  My grandmother passed away in 1998, and I would need to wait about 10 more years before I would be able to put a face to all of those wonderful stories.

In about 2008, I was visiting my grandfather and he asked if I wanted to go through a box of photos with him.  I assumed they were photos of my cousin and I growing up.  As I opened the box and searched through the contents, I noticed these were much older photos than I had anticipated.  There were many faces that I did not recognize.  I sat for hours with my grandpa looking over these old photos and hearing his stories of the people in the pictures.  Eventually, I did find a photo of a man that resembled my grandma.  I was told this was my great grandfather.  At last, the elusive face of Elmer Fritsch was revealed to me. I felt such joy in seeing this photo that I wanted to see how far I could trace my ancestry.  This has since become a passion for me.  I want to gather as much information as I can to pass it to my children.  This is who they are,  and I want them to know as much as they can. 

Since beginning my quest of ancestral knowledge, I have traced my family back twelve generations in some branches.  I am very proud of this.  It has taken many hours of searching records, asking family members about their memories, and requesting copies of any photos they may have.  I then thought that I would try to trace my wife's family tree.  I thought this would be a much more daunting task since her family is from South Korea.  So, I began my quest by asking her aunt for any information.  I was shocked when she pulld out a book that traced their family back seventy six generations.  That means that my daughter, Myla, is generation seventy seven, and it is all recorded.  I absolutely love that my wife's family holds their heritage in such high regard that all of her ancesters are remembered.  It is a quality that I hope my children pass on to their children.

Distractions and Motivation Part 2

As  this semester races forward, I am still struggling with the same distractions common to most students and parents.  It seems there is always a deadline to be met or a paper to be completed. I find myself feeling as if I am forgetting to do something quite often.  Sometimes this can feel overwhelming. This is especially true when it is coupled with the rigors of everyday parenthood.  The normal bumps and bruises, sniffles and teething of a growing 13 month old seem unending.  And this is a walk through the park when compared to the mood swings of an 18 year old girl and the realization that she will soon be out on her own and attending college herself.

The progression of my daughters through their respective changes is what keeps me motivated to do well in school.  I want to serve as a good example that you can achieve your goals by working hard and persevering.  The ability to better provide for my family financially is also a great motivating factor. It is through furthering my education that I will be able to do this.  I often heard my parents say that they wanted to provide for us kids more than they had.  I always felt like I had enough in my childhood.  However, I now understand what they meant.