So much to be thankful for

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, and The Legal Genealogist has so much to be thankful for.

I woke up this morning, warm and safe.

I woke up in a building with working heat and with hot and cold running water.

I woke up to the certain knowledge that I would have enough to eat, and safe water to drink.

I woke up in a town that isn’t racked by war.

From which I will not have to flee in fear of my life.

Where I did not hear gunshots — or bombs — in the night.

From whence I will not carry the name “refugee.”

Where I hope I can welcome and help those who are bearing that name.

Just the way the pilgrims were welcomed and helped when they arrived on these shores…

And I remain so very thankful for this amazing community we have of genealogists around the world, many of whom have been my mentors over the years and so many of whom have become friends.

I’m thankful for all those who’ve gone before us, blazing the trails of methodology and scholarship, teaching, training, encouraging us to be the very best we can be as researchers.

I’m thankful for those who’ve fought to keep records open for us to use and to preserve the records where we may find the clues we need. For those with the foresight to think up the Preserve the Pensions campaign. Those who digitize books and original documents. Those who collect and archive and preserve and protect.

I’m thankful for all the genealogical societies that have opened their doors and their hearts to me and to all of us who love to share what we know… and for all that each and every one of them has taught me in return.

I’m thankful for all the amazing tools we have — our computers, our mobile devices, the internet, DNA testing — to help us break down the brick walls in our quests to find our ancestors.

I am so very thankful for my big, bold, brash and utterly frustrating family of ancestors who just insist on constantly playing hide and seek.

And I am so very thankful for my big, bold, brash and utterly wonderful modern family — brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins by the dozens — and the security that comes with knowing that someone always, always, has my back.

I’m so very thankful for the new babies and not-so-little-anymore boys and girls who are bringing us such joy as they swell the ranks of the family.

I’m thankful for friends near and far.

And very very thankful for just making it through another year, to another Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks.