I've been in a genealogy slump the past --- well more than I'd like to say. I'm not really sure why. Partly I've gotten a little frustrated with my ancestors. Their dodge and evade tactics have gotten to me. Personally I think they are all in cahoots together. Seriously. I know it sounds a little weird. However, I can't help but think of "The Muppets" and the old guys who sat up in the balcony yelling out their one liners. Except it's my ancestors trying to one up each other. You know something along the lines like, "I've got a doozy for her! I was never in the same location for any given census year in my lifetime!" or "That's nothing! In my part of the tree my dad and his brothers used the same naming pattern for all of their children. And then their children used it too. She's going to have a time sorting all that out!" Har har har!!! You get the idea. Then I have the Italians on my husbands side, who can't seem to figure out what name they want to use or how they want to spell it. Sometimes it just gets to you, and then you spiral into a slump. It turns out I'm not alone.
Apparently Elyse Doerflinger has been going through a slump too. On her blog,
Elyse's Genealogy Blog, she talks about her two month slump and being stuck in "blah-land." I know the feeling and I fully empathize. Elyse goes on to suggest inspiration to dig your way out of a slump and she has some really good suggestions. We both get inspired by
Who Do You Think You Are? and I'm sure joining the list this weekend will be
Finding Your Roots.
So if you are in a slump you should check out Elyse's blog, maybe it will un-slump you. Even if you aren't in a slump, check it out for future inspiration. It's helped push me out of Slumpville.
