Author Archives: Jacky Gamble

Family Meetings

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Family meetings are times for families to come together and discuss issues that affect the household. Topics can be about anything, from school, to chores, to vacation planning. You could also hold meetings just as a way to ensure that your family spends time together on a regular basis, with no agenda to the meetings at all. Family meetings are a great way to promote open discussion between yourself and your children. Children whose families engage in regular family meetings are less likely to get into trouble, abuse drugs or alcohol, develop depression, or have poor self-esteem. Any member of … Continue reading →

“Tweeters” to Celebrate Junteenth

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On June 19th, Twitter users will be celebrating an important historical event, now referred to as Junteenth (also called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day). Before I get into the details of the event, let me first give you a brief introduction about what Juneteenth is. On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger led his troops of Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas. They were there to announce the end of the Civil War and free all slaves. While Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took place 2-1/2 years prior to the war’s end, many African Americans in Texas were still enslaved. Today, … Continue reading →

Single Parent Adoptions

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More and more single people, especially women, are choosing to become single parents. One way for a single person to become a parent is through adoption. Adoption.com defines adoption as “a legal process that creates a new, permanent parent-child relationship where one didn’t exist before.” While many adoption agencies still deem married couples as the best candidates for adoption, many do now allow single people adopt. Domestic Adoption Domestic adoptions are adoptions that take place within the adoptive parent’s own country (in the case of this post, this is the United States). A domestic adoption typically costs between $15,000 and … Continue reading →

Single Parent Travel: Planning a Vacation on a Budget

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So you want to take a vacation with just you and your kid(s)? The first question you need to ask yourself is where you will go. Do you want to visit the beach? A major historical attraction? A city? Are in interested in going on a trip that is just for single parents? Will you be traveling near or far? If you’re like me, a major factor in deciding where you will vacation is dependent upon your budget. As single parents, we often do not have a lot of “extra” money for things like vacations to exotic locations. We are … Continue reading →

Genealogy for Kids

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I want my children to share my passion for genealogy, and I try to share my research with them whenever I think I may have grabbed their attention. My three-year-old son accompanies me on most of my cemetery visits, and actually gets excited when I ask him if he wants to go for a walk in the cemetery. My nine-year-old daughter enjoys looking through my old family photos with me. I am always looking for ways to involve my children in my genealogy, and often come up short when looking for ideas online. However, I have managed to come across … Continue reading →

Genealogy Resume

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I have recently been putting together a genealogy resume for two reasons. Number one, I have decided to take my genealogy hobby professionally-much thanks to this blogging job for showing me how great it can be to get paid for what you really love. And number two, in order to allow me to reflect on my own personal strengths and weaknesses in regards to my genealogical experience and know-how. My completed genealogy resume will include all aspects of my genealogy “addiction” (for lack of a more appropriate word). I will include my reasons for doing genealogy, any education I have … Continue reading →

Role Models of Another Gender

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As a single parent with an absent non-custodial father, I always worried about my daughter having a strong male role model in her life. I did all I could by being the best mom I could be. I worked so I could provide her with shelter, food, clothes, and an over-abundance of toys. I made it a point of doing special mom and daughter things, such as painting our nails, going to a movie, shopping, etc. But there was one thing I could not do: teach her how to have a relationship with a man. I am not talking romantic … Continue reading →

African American Genealogy

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Yesterday a friend who is researching her African American genealogy contacted me, wondering if I have any tips for her, since this type of research is difficult due to the country’s horrible history of slavery. Unfortunately, never having done any African American genealogical research, I wasn’t of much help to her. However, I am inspired to broaden my knowledge and try to help her as best as I can. I am looking forward to her next email, which will provide me with the information I will need to see if I can discover any new information for her. I am … Continue reading →

Genealogy Glossary

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There are many words and phrases used in genealogy that we sometimes do not see or use in every day life. To succeed in genealogy, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with them. Listed here are just some of the many words and phrases you may come across during your genealogical research. There is also a list of sites that offer more comprehensive genealogy glossaries. Ahnentafal: A table of someone’s ancestors in which a numbering system is used. This word derives from the the German Ahnen meaning ancestor, and Tafel meaning table. Ancestor: Any person that someone is … Continue reading →

Parental Alienation Syndrome

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I have seen many couples break up and use their children as pawns during arguments and custody battles. Too often, I hear one parent bad-mouth the other parent in front of the children. I have to admit, I have been guilty of the latter. I do make a conscientious effort not to do this, but I’m human, and it does happen from time to time. If this badmouthing occurs frequently, and is causing the child and other parent to have a poor relationship, it may be a condition known as parental alienation syndrome. Parental alienation syndrome occurs when one parent … Continue reading →