History

I've been doing some genealogy lately.  My Mom had already started a page on Ancestry.com and I just added my husband's family into it.  It's pretty cool to look at it every once in a while and find a new leaf that gives you a little more information about someone.  I have my Mother-in-law's family back to the 1500's.  Same with my Brother-in-law.  The people I really want to know, like my paternal ancestors  have no information.  Could be because we're Smith's.  I would like to know more about Brown Eyed Man's paternal ancestors too, but they stop right after his Great-Grandfather.  Could be because they're Carter's.  I sort of made a lateral move in the last name department.

My Dad has recently started writing his biography.  I just received the second draft last night and I haven't had a chance to read it.  When the first draft came, I got a stomach ache thinking about reading it.  What if there were things in there I didn't want to know?  The other day, without provocation, he told me about the 3 times he could have cheated on my Mom but didn't.  In reality, they weren't really opportunities at all, but they were close enough for him.  But the thought of it made me want to cut my ears off so I didn't have to listen.

He said he danced with another lady once and felt like he was being seduced on the dance floor so he stopped.  Didn't stop my Mom, she was dancing away with a bunch of people.  Trollop. 

When I was 19, I went to a Christmas party with my parents and everyone was drunk but me.  I almost had to sock a lady because she was getting a little too close to my Dad.  I gave her a good shove with my elbow "on accident" and I think she got the picture.  Lord knows what my Mom was doing.  Clearly not paying attention to someone scamming on her man.  Good thing I was there.  I told them both about it in the morning and neither knew what I was talking about.  Of course.

So, when I finally got the nerve to read my Dad's biography last week, I found that I loved it.  I loved it so much I wanted to give it to other people to read so they could see the interesting life he had lived and the part I read stopped when he was 21.  I wouldn't do that because it's not my story to give away.  In 18 pages, I only knew about 3 of the stories.  It was wonderful to learn so much about this man I've known my whole life but now I'm back at the same place I was before I read the last one.  A little nervous.  Seriously though, what could be in there that would bother me?  They are as white-bread as you can be.  Lutheran's from Northern Minnesota.  It's a scandal when you use more than salt and pepper for flavoring.

He's inspiring me to write more in my journals and keep a better record of who we are.  Someday, someone might want to read it.

j