A New Sort of Story

I’ve written many times about my love of history and how my own personal family history, stemming from deep roots in central Kentucky, has inspired, influenced, and shaped me. Sometimes, the familial connections that stretch across this region have felt confining – anyone who has grown up in a small town will know exactly what I mean. If I did anything I wasn’t supposed to do growing up – someone found out, and the news made its inevitable march back to my parents. But the older I get, the more I treasure that closeness, the stories handed down over the years, and the fact that I can go out into this place (city) I live now, and run into a cousin at the grocery store – especially when I was trying to avoid seeing anyone I knew at all!

My own story has taken a new turn, resulting in a sharp decrease of writing and maintaining this blog. Although I feel like my mind continues to churn out ideas and possibilities, pointing out rabbit holes down which good stories lurk, my ability  (and time) to translate those errant thoughts has been severely curtailed. But last week, I was able to take a walk and photograph some buildings with my newest fieldwork companion: my five-week old daughter.

The stories that have spun around me my whole life weren’t far from my mind when she made her way into the world – and she now takes her place in this developing chronicle. Even if she decides that historic buildings are boring and unimportant, history will follow her – she is named for my two sisters, who figure so largely in my own personal narrative, and who are in turned named for our paternal and maternal grandmothers. Layers and layers of stories…

My paternal grandmother….

So she takes her place into a chain of stories, and will no doubt make her own very significant impact. And while my traveling is confined to my own neighborhood for now, we are already planning our first road trip – one that will likely try the patience of both she and her father! May the holidays be good to you, and best wishes for a peaceful New Year.

And the other side of the family…