Putting it all together

My bucket list includes writing a book. In my mind, this could not be accomplished until my life was in order and stability achieved. Finally, in retirement, in my forever home, with all crises managed, I am able to start working on compiling our family stories into a book.

It's hard! Just determining the organization of information is a huge challenge. A chronological account is way too complex and daunting. Stand-alone stories seem disjointed and lack meaningful relationship connections. I've pondered this for a very long time - years in fact. And one day, it just came to me. I will organize all of our stories and information by categories, with interesting chapter titles and catchy opening lines. 

Here are the categories I've settled on so far. I will keep adding to this list as this concept congeals in my mind. It's a sorting game! I'll try to fit all of our best stories into the chapters where they fit best. It's amazing how my research seems to fit neatly into categories like this:

Cemeteries (final resting places): surprisingly, the source some of the most exciting revelations.

Immigrants: who were the first in our lines of descent to come to America?

Notables and other colorful characters: the well-known folks and standouts in our ancestry.

Emotional Moments: the research findings that brought tears and excitement over the past decade.

Slices of Time: capturing the big picture across all branches of our family tree at certain historically important times.