Don’t worry about being worried. You’re heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something else. -Tracy Kidder
My daughter, Sara started college on the day I turned fifty. Instead of moping around and feeling sorry for myself, I started traveling solo.
I went to Alabama in October of 2011 and met some very
distant cousins. Carolyn lives in Alabama, Mac lives in Tennessee and Randy lives in California. We are all descendant
from the same man – Samuel Abner Lambert, who was born about 1804.
It was fabulous to meet and spend time with these “new” relatives, hear their stories and
learn more about my family and their lives in the south.
In the fall of 2012, I spent ten days in Scotland and
Ireland. This time I was meeting “new”
cousins from my Wilson family tree.
Peter Wilson immigrated to the US from Inishowen, Co Donegal, Ireland
with his parents in 1777. The family I
met was descendant from Peter’s brother George, who stayed behind. This was my first trip overseas and I had a
wonderful time.
April 2013 saw me traveling to Franklin, Tennessee to
continue researching the Lambert family tree.
Cousin Carolyn from Alabama met me and we had a great time catching
up. We went thru files in the local
library, took a civil war tour and visited the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. She headed home and I spent two more days on
my own. I took another civil war tour
and then headed back to Nashville. I
spent most of the day at the Country Music Hall of Fame and had a wonderful early
dinner at a local bar. A little shopping and it was time to head home.
In August 2013, I was laid off after seven years with the
same company (we will save that story for another post). Anyway, I now had some time on my hands and a
very dear friend offered to pay for my airplane ticket to return to
Ireland. And in October 2013 – off I
went!
A week in Ireland, catching up with family, taking
photographs and discovering new locations was exactly what I needed. I spent time with new friends and time
alone. I wrote in my journal and I
wandered around Dublin. I came home
refreshed and with a new sense of beginning.
I felt the need to get rid of the “stuff” in my life – literally and
figuratively. The change had begun!
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