So Oracle Genealogy is approaching five years of age, where has all that time gone!? I remember wondering about the same time last year what would the next year bring. Think it is safe to say that a lot can definitely happen in a year!
To use a phrase that belonged to my late grandfather Tom it’s a been a “rough one”. I’ve already been public about the state my mental and physical health had got to so I won’t dwell on it too much. Several factors were contributing to this bout of burnout and this time I genuinely thought is this it? has the spark for something I have adored since I was sixteen years old well and truly gone? It was frustrating sitting in front of my computer and nothing was inspiring me. Sometimes staring at the four walls was better at making time pass by. Turns out the spark doesn’t really leave it just lies dormant for a time, whether it be for weeks or months, until something comes along to reignite it again. For me it came in the form of an RAF pilot whose story took me all the way to Mexico! I have made comment in the past that genealogy is like a form of therapy for me but actually it is my therapy. It helps me forget what's going on the world for a few hours, I say a few hours it could be a late hour before I realise sleep is a requirement too!
Discoveries since then have not ceased to amaze me whether it was runaway parachute jumpers to the biggest family I’ve uncovered so far which numbered 17 children. Another article was also accepted for publication in the Donegal Annual this year so thank you to Sean Beattie for that! Hopefully the discoveries will keep on coming be they good, bad, ugly or unbelievable!
A mention must go to my family who’ve put up with this for 13 years and have stuck a bit more than usual of late. They were the ones who pointed out something wasn’t right and persuaded me get some help. It really is true that if not for the people around me I’d have exploded long ago. I will give credit to my younger sibling's efforts in her determination to not allow me to be sad or down.
Thanks to those in the genealogical community, as well as past clients, who send comments and best wishes where appropriate. Thanks again to Stripy Paint for keeping the website running as it should and for putting up with my panic attacks when I think something’s gone wrong!
A final mention to one particular person; I’ve had more rough days than I can count these past few months and I would never have got through them without you. Whether I was ranting or ready to explode you just listened and would have the right words to say. You did also have to contend with the occasional time when I was high as a kite because I’d found a really good discovery or was refusing to come out of the archive I’d “found” myself in. How you stuck it all I’ll never know! I’ve never known a more nicer, decent human and I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such company but this mad wee muppet could not be happier to call you their friend. If there were more decent humans about the world would be a far better place.
Think what I’ve learnt after this year is don’t let anything or anyone grind you into the ground. Not every day might be good but there is good in everyday!
I think better times lie ahead, let’s see what the next few months bring!
