Looking towards the Future- Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.

Topic Info:
Although we spend most of our genealogy time looking back, we should also look ahead. Week 51's theme is "Future." Who or what do you want to find next year? Which family member do you think will pick up the family history and carry it forward? Another way to think of it is to think of an ancestor who seemed to be "ahead of their time."

Growing up, I always looked towards the future and loved the holidays. One year I made Bûche de Noël log cakes and everyone loved them. The first few years I must have made at least 10 a year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I loved doing it, along with all the other baking I did. There were also the times with my nieces decorating their trees and baking with them. However, by the time they hit their early teens they didn't want to do it any longer which is sad although they can't remember the hot cocoa, singing, dancing while decorating the tree and house.

A mix I made up for one of our meetings

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Polish cookies kolaczkis 

My homemade chocolates which I learned from my chocolate class I took this year.

The first years here in Australia were a huge change and I really cut back on the baking. However, after we moved into our home, I started getting into the baking again. However, as the years went on the hard it got to keep up the baking due to no children being around. The last few years, since we had our nephew William, I really didn't feel like Christmas.

Then there's this year - so much heartbreaking sadness in one year (this year 2019). In fact, I'm really struggling. Yes, we put up the tree but didn't mold it (as its artificial), plug it in, or really not done much decorating just a few ornaments, which my husband put most of them on and the one peice of garland we have on it, but there is a tree.

The baking, I'm doing it but its a real struggle. I just don't want to do it this year - at all. How can you when the future is looking oh so bleak for myself? We have no children due to me not being able to carry. Adoption and fostering, which we tried with the above named William in a way, we decided against.

What to do with my research in the future?
I've asked myself this many times over the past few years. Everyone comes to me for information, which is great, but what am I to do with it after I'm gone? This is the concern I face due to a line which will die out with us unfortunately.

• At one point, I thought my nieces might be interested, but found they are only interested in the side of their family which doesn't include mine. I want to give my research to someone who will respect it as much as I do and I just don't think it'll be them. 
• I was thinking of my maternal cousins, but I'm not sure about that either. 
• Another thought was to give it to the genealogy society in the county where I grew up. I know they do intend to take things like this, but I'll have to check it out to see what format they would want everything in as I have A LOT of documents and most are electronic. 

It's a big decision because I just don't want to let the information just die with us and it go nowhere. This was one reason why I started this blog - to share my information with anyone who wants to read about it. It doesn't cost anything for anyone other than time. However, this blog won't be able to have all the information - there's just sooo much!

How to share my information?
In the past few years, I've wanted to share my information. For those who could care less, I figured giving them small bites of information might interest them enough to ask or talk about the information without an overabundance of information.

But how?
At first, I was going to write everything up in a book and send it via ebook to everyone. I did part of it for my paternal grandmother, Jean Schmitz, and my maternal Uncle Louis. However, it gets time consuming and I'm not very good with things like that.

Another plan was to create ornaments for the tree and send them to my family to hang on the tree every year with a small card on each person. I might still do this, but I have to find the time to get creative and try it out.

The next thought was to print out pictures and make a quilt out of it. This is one I'm still trying to find enough time to try out as well. I have a plan and found instructions to actually do, but now to find the time!

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Another thought was flash cards with people's information like name, where and when born, where and when died, where they lived, children, etc. However, my handwriting sucks to put it bluntly. Then I tried filling it out in Word, but I just didn't like it and found it fiddly.

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Then there was the thought about having a tablecloth and everyone signs it and can trace around their hands and put the year. Then you stitch everything and each time you do it, someone gets the tablecloth unless you do multiples. I thought it was a nice way to remember everyone.

How to make your own Monopoly Game

Lastly, was making a game up like Monopoly. You'd have a gameboard, player pieces, cards, land, and dice just like the game. However, I was thinking about adding in questions for the person to answer this way everyone learns something. After the question was answered and read out, then you'd put it in the back of a huge row of cards.

In conclusion, I have many plans to share my information; however, the plan to who to give my research to is still in the air. Hopefully, I won't be going anywhere for awhile, but I would like to update my will (which I have to do!) and will put it in there who will win the "prize" but I'm leaning towards a complete forfeit and giving it to the Genealogy Society if they'll take it. However, with my luck they will probably not want it as well.

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