Love & Loss

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Love, Loss & Family:

2025 was a year of letting go of a lot of things loved.  Key people and pets in my life that have passed away, saying goodbye to organizations I was proud to be apart of, and then learning to say good bye all over again to some of my loved ones that may not be here for much longer in 2026.  Throughout this process I really experienced how overwhelming it can be; especially when the losses just kept coming.  Its a storm of emotions felt while congregating in front of a tissue box with no words to follow.  Although many of these stories were unravelling fast, I am happy that I can finally say that I am on the other side of grief.  I now feel more gratitude and realize the heatbreak I was feeling was simply because I experienced a whole lot of love in my life, and now feel ready to turn the page to a new chapter.

Every loved person was a page in my life story, regardless of the length of time they were in it.  So how do I ensure the stories gathered from them continue to be remembered?  For me I think photos are my love language.  Photos can say so many things without words.  Those that know me well know I have a lot of photos displayed in my house, and honestly if I had the space, I would have one big room full of all the people that are important to me.  I do love the ease and shareability of digitized photos as well, but I have noticed over the last couple of years that in a world of so much technology not many people print out photos.  I have a digitized frame I will admit , but  as a researcher hard copies and digitized copies both go hand in hand.

Another thing I have realized about my list of loved people is that I have so many that I can't put into my family tree!  We have our family tree supported by documents, your genetic tree supported by genome data, but what about people that do not share a common ancestor?  I have family that do not share the same last name, they are not biologically connected, nor are they adopted, they are simply people that I love and who hold an important place in my life.

In 2026 think about those that have been apart of your life.  What are some special memories of them?  Do you have a photo of them?  How did they impact your life? How do you want to incorporate them into your family trees? 🌳🫶

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