Genealogy

Alot of people look at me like I'm crazy when I say one of my hobbies is genealogy. There are not too many people in our age group who are obsessed with dead people. But I just wish I could convince people how fascinating it is to find an ancestor that no one in your living family knows about, or to confirm a story that has been passed down, or to trace your line so far back that you know where hundreds of your ancestors lived. We would not be here if it weren't for them. I wonder all the time if I have traits that my great-great-great grandma had. I have noticed that on both sides of my family mental illness is fairly prevelent. It might be coincidence, but it actually helps me with my struggle with depression. I at least have medication. Imagine going through it when they just lock you up, or shock you, or who knows what.
Last year we joined a genealogy society (we being my husband and I-he is just as obsessed as I am) and quickly joined the board. We realized that we were the youngest members by far (like 20 years), but thought that we'd be able to get more younger people to join us. Guess what, it hasn't happened. People are just so busy, or maybe they don't care, or maybe they just don't know where to start. Now Bill and I have taken over scheduling programs for our meetings, Bill is heading the committee to nominate new officers, and we're putting together a member survey. We're worried that people will think we're trying to take over, but no one else is willing (or able) to do these things. Where do I find people like me? Are we really that weird? We know we're nerds, but we like us.