Auld Lang Syne Redux

I’ve never been one to put much stock in the New Year’s Day holiday. For one thing, it seems everyone spends all their celebratory energy on the preceding night’s festivities, making the holiday designation for January first seem like such an afterthought. Then—and this will ring true for fellow family historians—if one’s family doesn’t hold the tradition, it’s unlikely to be passed down through the generations. Needless to say, since my family was never big on New Year’s Day—other than my musician dad, who occasionally used the holiday to catch up on sleep after playing a gig the night before—I don’t have that tradition, either.

Last New Year’s Day, I quoted an old passage from Louisa May Alcott’s Rose In Bloom which painted a picture of a very different New Year’s Day tradition. It took me all the way through my own childhood and half way through my daughter’s before I discovered that book. But finding the New Year’s Day passage was worth the wait. It opened my eyes to a world where renewing old acquaintances was not something you did in dimly lit corners at the stroke of midnight, but a lively pursuit engaged in during the many sunshine-embraced hours of the following day.

Last year, my Auld Lang Syne roundup featured my favorite fellow bloggers from 2011. I decided to reserve that reminiscing for yesterday’s post, this year. Instead, today, I’d like to spend time expressing my thanks to all of you—A Family Tapestry readers for 2012 who have taken the time to stop by and even leave a comment or two.

The point at which I made that decision was just a little over a week ago, when I ran across one particular comment that just made me smile.

Diana in 1954

After having posted a mystery photo of an unidentified little girl in a winter coat and muff, I noticed Wendy from Jollett etc. remarked,

"A muff! Of course, this picture was saved. You can't throw away a picture of a little girl with a muff - it's a rule."

Of course. How could I not have known that?!

That was one of those moments when I realized how grateful I am for those of you who stop by and leave a comment. While I will probably never meet you in real life, you are friends. Your words make a difference.

How often it is that we bloggers slip into that blue funk where we think nobody really reads what we have to say. We feel like we are shouting into a tin can (that’s how I used to feel in my radio days, even though I knew better at a “Top Forty” formatted station) and nobody is there to listen.

You and I know better. If nothing else, we listen to each other. I think it’s fairly safe to say others are listening in, too. And—good for us family historians who would want it that way, anyhow—those “out there” folks will get to keep listening in on our posts, long after we’ve pushed the “publish” button and moved on to other projects. We are laying down a legacy of sorts—one to which Google™ will someday direct other researchers interested in those very same surname, family, and community search terms.

When we comment on each other’s writing, we are actually joining in one gigantic, worldwide conversation. We get to talk to people we’d never have the opportunity to join for morning coffee (well, with certain exceptions!). We get to become a part of each other’s research and pet projects. We get to exchange ideas. Give feedback. Be an encouragement.

So, for all of you who have graced this blog with your presence through your comments, you have my heartfelt gratitude. I have certainly enjoyed getting to know you—and following your own projects. Consider this my verbal Friendship Bouquet. Thank you to:

Michelle Taggart of A Southern Sleuth

Julie Cahill Tarr of GenBlog

Gini Webb of Ginisology
Joan of Roots’n’Leaves

Lisa of 100 Years in America

Shelley Bishop of A Sense of Family

"Irish Eyes Jennifer" of On a Flesh and Bone Foundation: An Irish History
Linda Gartz of Family Archaeologist

Susan Clark of Nolichucky Roots
Jenny Jones of Raking Through the Leaves
Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy

Patrick Jones of Frequent Traveler Ancestry

Kathy Pooler of Memoir Writer's Journey
Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings
Grant Davis of The Stephen Sherwood Letters

Claudia of Found at an Auction and Claudia’s Genealogy Blog

Mariann Regan of Into the Briar Patch

Jana Last of Jana’s Genealogy and Family History Blog

Linda Huesca Tully of Many Branches, One Tree

Smadar Belkind Gerson of Past-Present-Future

Karin Hadden of The Art of Genealogy

Jessica (“not a bird watcher”) of The Brick Wall Climber

Nuccia of Growing Up in an Italian Family

Lisa Wallen Logsdon of Old Stones Undeciphered
Leah Allen of Leah’s Family Tree

Pam Garrett of Family Stories

Debi Austen of Who Knew?

Jennifer Darling of The Dead Bell

Andrea Kelleher of How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Cathy von Hassel-Davies of Digging Up Your Roots

Celia Lewis of Twigs and Trees

Ellie of Ellie’s Ancestors

Linda of Reaching the Heartwood

Fi of Dance Skeletons
Bettyann Schmidt of Rhine Girl

Denise Spurlock of Denise’s Life in the Past Lane

Eowyn Langholf of Turning Hearts Genealogy

DuSyl of DuSyl Family Lore & History

Nicola Carpenter of Murderous Monday
Kathy Hart of Kathy's Search 
Karen Glass of Family History With a "Looking" Glass
Brenda Clifford of Family Heritage Remnants of Time
Colleen Greene of Colleen & Jeff's Roots
Sharn White of Family History 4 U
"ljhlaura" of Branch and Leaf...a Family History Blog
Jim of Hidden Genealogy Nuggets
Susan of The Family Snoop
Sally Knudsen of SallySearches
Kathy Reed of Jones Family Matters
Mickishell of We Cannot Know Them All
And my real-life coffee buddy, Sheri Fenley of The Educated Genealogist

For those of you who prefer to do your blog hopping incognito, thank you also to:

Far Side of Fifty

Intense Guy

The Path Traveled

Genealogy Lady

Hungarian Family Record

Historian
Diggeo
Hummer
The Archivist
Apple

Plus my kind-hearted and supportive near relatives and those distant cousins I've met along the way...not to mention those multiple mystery people known to us only as “Unknown.”

And Wendy, of course, who got me thinking about this whole idea in the first place.

May you all enjoy a blessed, productive, insightful, successful year in 2013. And may we all continue to share in each others joys and victories—and lift each other up in those doubtful moments in between the high points.