"I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink..."

With yesterday being Father's Day, my beau (Tim) visited with his father. He returned home with a booklet that traces his family history. It reminded me the time 3 years ago I set out on the same journey. So I pulled out my old folder with all the names, dates, and places. Line by line connecting different families across the generations.

Now, I know...you might be thinking...genealogy is for nerds. And, you might be right.

I have traced my family back to a character named Johan Fish, who was the father of Casper Fish. To me it feels exciting to even think that my family had someone named Johan in it. Even cooler than that, I traced one line of my family back to the Lom/Stille line which originated from Roslagen, Sweden. Apparently this line settled on the Delaware side of Jersey, in what was called at the time Racoon Creek/Racocas/New Sweden. I told you it was cool...Not to mention, one of my relatives, Anna Lom, was born at sea. And, I wonder where I get my desire to explore from?

Regardless, while I sat watching the Braves (who continue to play what I will now refer to only a "Braves Ball"...only in a way that they know how) I also decided to start looking up more information about my family. I spent hours doing this. Tim seems to think I may have an addictive personality. I just couldn't stop wondering and thinking about what relatives of mine may have experienced in their life times.

I decided to calm down my fervor for information by settling down for some reading. I'm not only currently reading Tolstoy, but also Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. If you've seen the movie or read the book, probably not the best choice for someone hot on the trail of family history. It only fed this desire to know.

I tried to sleep. I attempted it for about 3 hours. I kept tossing and turning. I seemed to be haunted by all these faces and experiences. The unknown information was making me feel crowded. So I gave in and just got the hell out of bed (Tim probably sighed in relief that I finally just gave in and got out of bed).

I started thinking about family history. Then I started thinking about history in general. It amazes me to think that family members of mine witnessed the Industrial Revolution. For sociologists, this was a pretty important revolution...so its pretty impressive to stop and realize. I started thinking about the trees in my own front yard. They were here...way before. I started wondering what my street looked like 100 years ago. Who lived on this land? Okay, okay, I've probably had way too little sleep and way too much coffee.

Its just amazing what you can find when you start looking. I'll keep you posted. The exploration doesn't stop here.