Genealogy is one of the hobbies that can be enlightening and educational. It is an excellent way to learn more about your ancestors. On the other hand, there are many things about genealogy that are as frustrating as can be! Are you a frustrated genealogist? If so, you may get a laugh out of what I like to call “The ABC’s of Frustration With Genealogy”!
A is for ancestor, whom I cannot find. The search is driving me out of my mind!
B is for bedtime, but not for me. I’m still hard at work on my family tree!
C is for cemetery I’m dying to see. If only someone would go there with me!
D is for descendant, of which I am one. So are my children, and so on, and so on….
E is for everything that I don’t know. I have so much farther to go!
F is for family who don’t understand, just why I think all this research is grand!
G is for genealogy, my addiction, my curse. My passion, my lover, my nemesis, my hearse.
H is for heritage. I’m Irish, I’m sure. And German, and Polish, and maybe some more?
I is for internet, which seems to be down. You can tell by my face, and my giant frown.
J is for jokes that help me to cope. A nice distraction when I want to mope.
K is for kitchen table, covered in books. No dinners served here. I’ve no time to cook!
L is for library. Their internet is free. All computers are in use. Oh, woe is me!
M is for membership, and money I’ve spent. Let’s hope I still have enough for the rent!
N is for never, when I will be done. Some call it obsession – I call it fun!
O is for obsession. Ok, I admit, I cannot find a way to quit.
P is for patience. It takes so much time, to sift through information online!
Q is for questions, and I have a lot! Like, who, exactly, is buried in this plot?
R is for relatives whom I haven’t met. They haven’t fit into my research yet.
S is for searching through microfiche, covered in dust that makes my eyes itch.
T is for time, and I have lost track. My brain has traveled a few centuries back!
U is for unusual spellings you find the farther your research goes back in time.
V is for vacation. Is a graveyard nearby? Why does this question make my family cry?
W is for websites, with links that are dead. Suddenly, there is a pain in my head.
X is the shape of the crossbones on graves. Did they die of cholera, or does that mean plague?
Y is for yellowing newspapers pages, becoming more fragile the older their age is.
Z is for zillions in my family tree, who will not fit in so easily.
Image by Jo Fothergill on Flickr