My dad, Edward (Eddie) Ballenger |
Those of you who follow this
blog may have noticed it's been a bit quiet around here lately. The truth is, I experienced
a personal high and low in the same week in June, and it’s taken me awhile to
find my balance again.
The high point was that I
attended Judy Russell’s course, Advanced
Methodology & Evidence Analysis, at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University. And it was fantastic! Judy,
the other instructors, and my fellow classmates made for an amazing learning
experience. I was honored to be one of the recipients of the Birdie Monk Holsclaw Memorial Scholarship, along with my dear friend and colleague Laura Prescott.
Completing this course was a goal I’ve had for a long time, and it was all I
hoped it’d be.
The low point was that my
father passed away while I was there. He had been ill for some time, but not critically
so, and his death was unexpected. Wrestling with my emotions and the decision
of whether or not to leave Samford and go home took more than a little wind out
of my sails (an analogy my dad, an avid sailor, would appreciate). In the end,
the funeral was slated for the following week, and I was able to help with arrangements
from afar by sending digitized photos for his memorial slideshow. I finished
the course and still got home two days before calling hours.
Simultaneously, in another
state, my 91-year-old father-in-law became ill, and we literally flew
from my father’s funeral to be with him. Happily, he recovered and is doing
pretty well now, all things considered.
Needless to say, though, the
whole experience left me drained. Blogging ended up being the last thing on my
mind. As time went by, it seemed harder and harder to pick it up again.
But thanks to encouragement
from my friends and family, I’m back. As genealogists, we talk about our
ancestors’ friends and associates as a critical component of their lives. Well,
it works that way in the present too, doesn’t it? Those close to us have a way
of standing by us and nudging us to continue on.
Today happens to be the fifth
anniversary of the day I oh-so-tentatively entered my first post on A Sense of Family. So it’s the perfect time to say thank you to all
my readers, whether you’ve followed me from the beginning, just recently
stumbled upon my site, or fall somewhere in-between. A special thanks to everyone
who has stuck by me through this quiet time. I hope to get back to blogging
more regularly and sharing more of my discoveries with you in the coming year.
And I hope you’ll share with
me as well, because it’s much more fun that way! I love seeing your comments
and questions.
On we go...
--Shelley