Four Years Ago

At the start of May, 2011, the Stevens household was in the process of change. Our daughter had just been accepted to college, and I, having completed thirteen years devoted to personally directing her educational progress through homeschooling, was casting about for my own new direction in life.

Some answers come quickly. Little did I know at that point that, within two months, our family would make the decision for my husband to retire from a twenty five year career in law enforcement to launch our family business. But in May, I was still uncertain. All I knew was that I didn’t want to return to employment in a big organization—especially not the governmental concerns where I had previously been employed—and that I wanted to write.

But what to write?

“Write what you know,” the author’s mantra kept echoing in my mind.

That in itself, while sage advice, wasn’t particularly helpful. With a wide range of interests, I could find a lot to write about. Somehow, I settled on genealogy.

May 8 of that year was Mother’s Day, so in honor of my mother, I decided to launch my fledgling genealogy blog then. My original intention was to write brief posts for the five workdays of the week, then take a break over the weekends. I would treat it like a job. But then, I just had too much to say, so the posts continued on Saturday. Then Sunday. And they just kept going.

In August of that first year—just as we were starting up our business—our family took a trip back east to visit family. It was during that visit that I was gifted with the boxes of memorabilia from the Stevens and Tully families.

I would have plenty to write about, now.

Fourteen hundred sixty one posts later, you and I meet again, across this digital divide. While you are sharing my daily genealogical progress report with me over coffee this morning—or, for those of you kindred night owl spirits, to cap off your day—I am not only celebrating this fourth blogging anniversary, but I am celebrating another significant event.

Four years after launching A Family Tapestry, I’m celebrating another culmination of four years’ work: our daughter is entering a weekend of graduation festivities. Today, our family gathers to witness recognition of our daughter as “Outstanding Student of the Year” by her most recent academic home, the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific. Tomorrow, she not only graduates, but has been designated as the faculty-selected student speaker at the SIS ceremonies.

It’s been a busy four years. So much uncertainty at the beginning. Then so much work. At the end of the cycle, while enjoying the reward of the effort, we are once again launched into a new cycle of uncertainty.

Perhaps that is just the way life is.