My grandmother (mom's mother) has a passion for genealogy. I think she's traced our ancestory back past the Revolutionary War. And while I admire her dedication, I have never really been able to understand or share her passion for tracing the annals of the McMullen/Bryant lineage.
Growing up, I've had moments of curiosity over my genealogy. I had to create a family tree as a social studies project in elementary school and was amused by my funny, lopsided tree. My father was disowned before he met my mother so I don't have a lot of information on his side of the family; so, while my mom's side of the tree had branches galore (thanks to my grandmother the family historian), my dad's side had 3 little limbs. Looking at the tree, I wondered what his parents and grandparents were like and what it would be like to run into a stranger one day and find out that they're a long lost cousin. But, other than the occasional fleeting thought, I've never truly pondered and appreciated my ancestry the way my grandmother does.
Every couple of summers, we have a McMullen family reunion. I've gone to what feels like hundreds of reunions, but this summer might be the first summer where I really took the time to notice the history, the generations of family all in one place. It was fascinating. As I looked at the pictures of each McMullen generation, going all the way back to George and Gertrude McMullen (my great great grandparents), I was struck by a sense of...for lack of a better word..."roots". It was this feeling of being a part of something bigger than I could really understand, that in this giant web of relatives, I was just a tiny thread. But how cool it is to be a part of something so intricate. I was amazed at the knowledge some of my great uncles and 2nd cousins had about our family (we are apparently related to William Peterson from CSI, pretty cool...) and listening to some of their stories, I began to appreciate my grandmother's love of our genealogy.
I don't know that I'm ever going to start making detailed family genealogies, but I do think it would be nice to be able to tell my children about their family history, so maybe one day they too will be awed by their roots.
There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, and the other, wings." - Hodding S. Carter
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