Rules of Research

Always answer your phone!
The phone rings at 7:45 this morning, I'm in the middle of making breakfast before we head out to homeschool co-op at 8:45.  I almost don't answer, but the inclusion of an actual person's name on the caller id with the unknown area code intrigues me.  I answer.  The gal asks if she has the right person & then says she's trying to find out more about my ggg-grandfather Ebenezer Tanner's 2nd wife. Hold the phone!!

A picture of Ebenezer Tanner that always hung in our living room.

Never, ever give up on genealogy forum posts!
This gal had found a post I made on GenForum 13 years ago in 1998.  She was so excited to find a reference to her gr-grandma's maiden name, she took a shot in the dark, Googled my name & called the number she found.  People's e-mails change, but if someone has sheer determination,  they will track you down.  I don't use forums much anymore, some of that comes from lack of available time, but I am even more convinced of their usefulness after today:)
Always cite your references!
Early on in my research, it seemed like a mad dash to find all there was to find, after all there were a ton of blank spaces on that family tree!  In my rush, I was very lax in writing sources down.  So when this gal asked me today how I knew her gr-grandma's maiden name, I couldn't tell her for certain.  Hopefully I have it written in my notes somewhere.  Sourcing things is becoming increasingly important in this age of information.  People take a quick glance at a source & take it as their own without much thought as to the accuracy of the item.  I have seen many a family tree on-line clouded with mis-information.  It only helps you in the long run to keep track of where you got that nugget of info.  You never know when you'll be asked to prove something, even at 7:45 on a busy morning:)

Traditions

  At our church's Sunday evening services, people like to tease the elders, who lead the services, about their repetitive choices for hymns.  The good thing about this though is by now I can sing many of the verses by heart.  So on Sunday when my eyes were wandering while I was singing, they lingered on the large cross at the front of the sanctuary and I was reminded of my youth.  I grew up attending a Methodist church whose building was nearly 100 years old.  Before I was old enough to focus on the sermon (and even after I was), you could catch me staring at the huge stained glass windows wondering what went thru the minds of those Biblical characters, counting the water-stains on the ceiling, & pretty much memorizing every inch of that sanctuary:)  The building oozed history and tradition.  I miss the smallness of the congregation (average about 80), the doxology we sang every week, the pomp & circumstance, & those old hymns we sang.  I think that's why I enjoy the traditional evening service we attend now.

The church of my childhood

 As a contrast, our present church's morning service is contemporary, draws about 400 or more each Sunday, and is in a modern building.  The old me would never have thought to leave my traditions behind, but I love where we are now.   For instance, the music (a mix of current & old standards) is led by an amazing praise band, complete with guitars, piano, drums with the occasional trumpet, sax, & even harmonica.  I remember being a teenager and visiting a church like that and being at awe at the novelty of it.  The structure of the service, while mostly set involves no pomp & circumstance, but flows casually.  One of our kids' favorite part to observe is when the communion trays are brought out & they can watch the firefly-like reflections on the ceiling.  I have seen both worlds & have enjoyed both for different reasons.  I don't think I would choose one over the other, because really, the traditions aren't the important part:)

Lefty

Last year, my little girl announced, "Mom, Daddy and I are twins".  Of course my reply was "Why is that?".  She very matter-of-factly answered "We both use our left hands".  She is constantly looking for a connection for her left-handedness.  Late last year after finding out her great-grandma was left-handed, she asked "Mom, did she like vanilla ice cream?".  Not knowing exactly where she was going with that I answered "No, but your Great-Granddad Murray did", which was followed by her response of "what kind of ice cream did Grandma Doris like?" and Mommy's lightbulb went on in her head.  So we called up Aunt Karen and found out it was Butter Brickle, which didn't solve her ice cream problem, but satisfied it for the short term.  Every once in a while it will crop up and I'll explain to her how special she is because of it and who she shares that trait with and she'll smile that sweet smile and look at me with those big eyes and absolutely melt my heart:)