To my ancestors, thank you

I spent last weekend in a cabin in the woods. Literally. Admittedly, it was really nice – very clean and fairly new, so the all-important indoor plumbing/electricity/comfortable bed trifecta was covered. The décor was even “log-cabin,” so it felt right. I loved that the notebook with information about the cabin included a visitor’s guide with a half page of genealogical resources for the county. Hmm, they know me here! The things missing: internet and cable, although there was a TV. If I had been smart enough to take a bunch of DVD’s, I would have had more to do at night. Ironically, we had cell phone coverage, because we were at a fairly high elevation. So technically we had access to the internet, but it wasn’t an option for the laptop. I did sit and contemplate how luxurious these accommodations would have been for my great-grandparents’ generation. It was about 18 miles to the closest big town, so you really had to think about what provisions you needed and plan ahead. Although there were houses very close by, there was only one other person in the vicinity. Snowmobiling territory is pretty quiet in September. At night, it was VERY quiet, compared to what this city kid is used to. The idea that there was no one around was sort of comforting and ever-so-slightly unsettling at the same time. Being off of the grid for a short time was probably a good thing. After this past weekend, I get to complain about not having internet access for 60 hours, and oh-my-gosh, no TV – you have no idea how much I would have liked to have had a couple of seasons of NCIS at my disposal. Instead, I was compelled to commune with nature (even if that nature only consisted of seeing a couple of cows – yes, cows – and some wild turkeys)! So, to my ancestors, thank you for making that journey to the county seat for every registration of a birth or death, or to get that marriage license. Thank you for showing up in court. For many of you, it was a long way to go. Thank you for your journey that led to my being born in a medium-sized city in the 20th century. Because of that, I stand a much better chance of finding you.

Dame Lisa

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