Family, Family and More Family

Terrien / Welsh Family & Friends

It’s been a summer jam-packed with family visits both on my side and my husband’s side of the family. And I’ve truly enjoyed every minute of it. Almost. Okay, I’ve enjoyed 98% of it. (Oh family drama, how you like to show up at  the least expected moments…) 

During the family visits in Colorado, we had the pleasure of hosting Kevin’s uncle, Tom Welsh, and his daughter (Kevin’s cousin), Mary Lynn Walsh. I had such a great time getting to know them both better.

Uncle Tom regaled me with stories of his past, the places he’d lived and the jobs he’d held. As I listened to him I hoped that someone had written down his history – there were so many interesting things I was hearing in the short time we had to visit, I knew there was probably a lot more that he had tucked away in his memory banks. For instance, how many Welsh family members knew that one of Uncle Tom’s first jobs was working for a chicken farmer where he had to slaughter and dress chickens for customers? He hated it and didn’t last very long in the job. “All of their insides are yellow and the smell of the place was horrible. I quit that one pretty quickly,” he told me. (Those “insides” he’s referring to are the chickens’, not the customers’ – heh heh.)

So I ask you, how much do you know about your family’s history? I have a challenge for you: talk to your closest relatives – your parents, your brothers and sisters, your aunts and uncles, and ask them about their history. I bet you find out something you didn’t know, even though you think you know everything about them.

And then write it down. Or record them during the conversation. Or both. But record it. You may just find it to be a great treasure later on in life.

Don’t know what to ask? Check out this link to get some ideas.

Should you accept this challenge, I’d love to hear about what you discover.