Saturday 27 October 2012

Family Tree



Frustration  In Spades

When I first started working on our family tree, it was but a whimsical idea.  My sister and some cousins thought it would be interesting to see how our tree had grown, how many different nationalities and cultures we had embraced into our midst, how far abroad we had spread our branches, how many career paths we had imprinted, how many lifestyles we had wandered into, how many beliefs we had adopted, etc. etc. etc.  A fascinating subject, right?  Well, try it!

This sounded like an intriguing project and my sister got it started by gathering some basic genealogical facts.  She did not have a computer and did not type so she did it all in longhand on foolscap sheets that she kept in a large envelope in her desk drawer.  As she got older, she found the task burdensome as she had reached the limits of her personal knowledge and found other sources of information beyond her reach.  So who gets stuck with the continuation and the extension of this fantastic project?  Of course, the most likely candidate will be 1) someone that expressed interest in the project originally, 2) someone who has some basic computer knowledge, and most importantly 3) someone who is too naive to realise what she is getting into. The sum total of those factors at that time equalled ME.  I took that pile of foolscap home and entered a phase of my life that I had never encountered before.

With the aid of a computer program called the “Family Tree Maker” I organised the information, ran up monumental phone bills tracing (or visiting) reluctant or indifferent relatives, browsed through reams of Homecoming Books from places I had never even heard of, searched through countless unproductive archive files, visited graveyards throughout the prairies peering at unreadable gravestones and performing other unspeakably lunatic manoeuvres.  

Consequently, I have learned several very important lessons.  This project is monumental. It is exhausting.  It is “never-ending”.  It is time, energy and brain consuming.  It is costly.  It is thankless.  And worst of all, it is hopeless!   I give up!


Monday 15 October 2012

Losing ground

When the Brain Doesn't Work
This started out as "humor" but ended up "lament"

When your tricky brain goes AWOL
And you feel you're losing ground
And the thought you're trying to retrieve
Just doesn't hang around.
You try hard to remember
But it seems to no avail
You may as well be hauling rain
In a leaky water pail.
Your mind gets so frustrated
And you fear the end is near
You seem so close to losing all
The brainpower you held dear.
You fight the sinking feeling
You're ageing much too fast
You're so afraid that intellect
Your clever self has passed
Your wit that used to be so sharp
Has hardly is now an edge
To get a thought delivered now
You almost need a dredge
Your youthful vim and vigour
Is gone without a trace
It did not stay to bid adieu
Just left you in disgrace
It's sad to see you're failing
And worse to be aware
That all that worldly wisdom
Is just not yours to share.

Monday 8 October 2012

Thanksgiving


Thank You Lord

For good health and life serene
For friends, family, often seen
For sunny days and moonlit nights
For heavens full of starry lights
For trees and flowers, around and near
For air we breathe that’s sweet and clear
For food enjoyed that sustains our life
For peaceful times that hold no strife
For laughter, joy, – and – sorrow, too
All life’s experiences you guide us through
For all the blessing you give each day
We’re truly grateful and we humble pray:
Thank You Lord! 

Thursday 4 October 2012

Friends that are always there for us


Friend

For those people that are always there for us but whom we never seem to acknowledge or appreciate enough.  I just thought that with Thanksgiving coming up, such people should have a bit of recognition
I have entitled this little poem as simply

Friend

What do I see when I look at you
I see the bright sun shining through
A cloudless sky of azure blue
A lovely rose that’s sprung anew
I see a friend that’s always true
I see pure love reflected too
And I see you smile like you always do
So what do I feel when I think of you
I feel so grateful, I have you!