It’s hard to sit in the liminal space between endings and beginnings without lots of reflection, a little nostalgia, and copious amounts of inspiration, in my world at least 😉 Turning the page from one year into the next typically feels vastly expansive, but this year in particular has me thinking I have all kinds of capacity.
As a full-time farmer who homeschools our pre-teen, I’m best able to focus on my writing and genealogy goals during the coldest months. This is a double edged sword because, the new year falls smack in the middle of my calmest time, when all possibilities and goals seem attainable. Come growing season, though, and it all flies out the window while I play in the dirt.
That being said, I still find it important to set and track my goals and celebrate each small accomplishment for the win that it is.
2024 Accomplishments, by the numbers
I added 281 new documents added to my personal files, including:
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My 2x great grandpa, John Patrick Brogan’s, Civil War Pension File, which alone is 429 pages long!
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The cutest letter to Santa I’ve ever read (written by my great grandpa, Dutch, in 1902 when he was just seven years old.
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A book published in 1933 containing my Grandma Eve’s award winning poetry (not a “document” but definitely notable)!
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The first (and only) photos of my 2x great grandma, Nancy Jane + documentation proving our kinship thanks to DNA and a distant cousin.
I properly labelled 112 physical photos, to the best of my ability based on the information available to me and my own closure skills.
310 pages from my maternal grandma’s memoir scanned. Such a tedious process this is as it has to be done one page at a time!
I completed five spreads created in my Heritage Journal for
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Myself
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My mom
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My bio-father
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Both of my maternal grandparents (Eve and Phil)
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plus the intro to it all
One new paternal (first) cousin was found via Ancestry who I’m hoping will want to chat when he’s ready.
~5,000 new kin (close and distant) found via 23&Me (+ a whole load of other fun facts about our family’s more distant DNA).
17 blog posts written in this space about it all and lots of sharing happened on Instagram.
Whew! Goodness it feels good to write it all out and see it in black and white!
Unrealized Goals
I could list out everything I’d hoped to accomplish this year and “failed” at achieving, and I will give some examples in a minute, but I want to start by acknowledging that every single step is a step forward. I could choose to be hard on myself for not completing X, Y, & Z or dropping the ball on A, B, or C, but to what end?
Yes, I could have devoted more time to labelling photos…
And I could have pushed harder to complete scanning the final 191 pages of my Grandma’s memoir…
I may have forced myself to sit with my Heritage Journal and create the spreads for both of my paternal grandparents despite not feeling the creative spirit…
But life is busy and full and being present with myself and my family is *also part of our family history.
Doing my best and offering myself grace is part of our ancestral healing.
And so, the perfectionist in me is learning to embrace the ebb and flow of opportunity and inspiration, time and capacity, in the trust that every bit that gets done is truly wonderful and, as I’ve said before, will be left in better shape than it was left to me for the next generation to carry it forward.
So, does this mean I’m giving up on goals for 2025?
Heck no.
But my approach may be a tad different.
2025 Genealogy Goals
So, what might “a tad different” mean?
It means going easier on myself by offering myself grace and cheering myself on each step instead of feeling guilty for any “missed opportunities” or unfinished goals.
It means finding the balance in my capacity like this:
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Deep dive in my 2x great aunt, Eva Caroline’s, life. I’d like to, as I’ve heard said, add some “flesh to her bones” by blending the facts and data I have already found online, anything else still unknown to me online, and the stories my Grandma wrote about her. This is all in an attempt to better understand who Eva was as well and the times and places she lived in.
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Truly finish scanning Eve’s memoir.
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Complete one Heritage Journal spread each month (this might be a stretch, but I’d like to find my creative rhythm with it all, if I can). This goal will allow me to complete my paternal grandparents’ pages + all eight of my great grandparents, with a little wiggle room to spare.
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Research, label, and document as I’m inspired to, without deadlines attached.
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Complete and print 1-2 way over due (current) family photo books.
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I’m also toying with the idea of adding these goals and a few other fun ones (like making ancestral meals) into the mix. Stay tuned.
And so, with a fresh year ahead of me, I hope to make myself and my ancestors proud while enjoying the process.
How about you? Have you nailed down your goals for this year yet? Or are they still marinating?
Onward,
Melis