Much to be Grateful for

 

The Thanksgiving holiday continues over the entire weekend for our family, so the gratefulness didn't stop with yesterday's sunset. Today, for instance, the turkey saga continues as we button up the leftover meat in the stock made from the picked-clean bones and roasted vegetables and park it all in the freezer for future soup-making endeavors. Much of the rest of the weekend will be devoted to preparing for the next holiday celebration which, from my vantage point at the close of a too-short month, will be here all too soon.

There is, however, something else which I am grateful for during this final weekend of November. Since the close of one month means wrapping up that month's research project, I often end with a to-do list of what needs to be completed next in my continuing struggle to discover my family's roots.

For the last three months of each year, those research projects do indeed signify a struggle, for that is the time I devote to pushing against the brick wall of my paternal grandparents' heritage. My patriline, in particular, has been a challenge, but in reality, I've struggled with all four of my paternal grandparents' parents. 

To think that, when I began this quest decades ago, I dutifully searched in the direction I was told: that my father was Irish. After all, his surname certainly sounded Irish—but that was because I didn't know my immigrant paternal grandfather changed his name.

It's been a long, plodding journey filled with twists and turns—and mostly dead ends. Polish records are not as accessible for the regions I've discovered for my paternal lineage, but with DNA—and cousins helping cousins—that journey has become a step-by-step process. And just this past week, I believe I've made a significant step on this Polish line with the surprising discovery of some DNA matches in Australia.

When I awoke at the beginning of this holiday weekend, the thought hit me how long it has taken to get to this point—and that the work is now actually leading to a clearer picture of my paternal ancestors' story. For those who stayed behind in Poland, it certainly wasn't a happy one, true, but at least now I know. For once, as I close out a month's work, I can look forward to continuing on this line for a future year's Twelve Most Wanted.

For now, I have two more days to wrap up this month's search by summarizing what I've discovered on my great-grandmother Anastasia Zegarska's mother's Wojtaś family. Over this holiday, every time I think about it, another wave of gratefulness washes over me. This breakthrough has been a long time coming.