Grandma's Attic

Once upon a time we were all bornjesteres0854

I realize that makes no sense, but I'd never tried that font before, and thought I'd get your attention. On Friday my cousin Laurie Chandler from Weiser Idaho and his wife Ruth came to visit. I'd loaned him my Dad's picture book from his childhood and he brought it back, along with a history of his mother, my Dad's sister Naomi.

I've had great fun reading her story, a woman just writes things in such a different way than a man. Plus she told things about my Dad that he'd never written in his book (like seriously thinking about marrying a girl named Rose when he was 18) Luckily he didn't or I'd be someone else right now.

She also talked a lot about my Grandmother Nettie May, who died back in 1923. Her death certificate said the reason was melancholia, which today is depression. My Dad had mentioned it but Aunt Naomi was the one who tended her for the last year when she was partly an invalid, so I learned so much more about her. My grandfather Frank had died just a year before, and she never got over the loss.

Having had so many years of depression myself, I'm always interested in hearing about others in the family who have a similar mental illness, or are bi-polar, since they are both genetic.

WHY WE DO GENEALOGY

The thing I like best about genealogy is the histories and the photos. Names and dates and ages are fine, and we need them to do the temple work, but for me, I want to SEE what that person looked like, and how he thought, and what his hopes and dreams were, and how he FELT . You know, sad and happy, up and down, miserable or on top of the world.

I find with myself I have to write when I'm in a really bad mood, depressed, as well as on the up manic days, when I'm flying high. Otherwise I don't get the feelings out. It is so fun to go back later and read what I was feeling on those days.

I try to be careful when I'm angry and not say things that might hurt others later if they ever read it, but just writing them down is like going to a counselor (and much cheaper). My best writing is done in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep and all the space in the house belongs to me.

SO, IF YOU HAVEN'T WRITTEN A JOURNAL, GET BUSY.