Another milestone has been reached today: my son officially rolled over on his own. This got me thinking about milestones in general, as well as the value of persistence.
Milestones amaze me. During the first year, I'm finding out, they're frequent. The first laugh. The first time he holds a bottle. The first time he eats pureed food. Then he crawls. Then he walks. And talks. They're hard to keep up with, really.
As we get older, these milestones are fewer and farther between. At 16 we get our driver's license. At 18 we graduate high school. And vote. At 21 we can legally drink. We may also have college graduations, begin our careers, have weddings, and babies. Finally, we stop once every 10 years to celebrate the passing of another decade.
In genealogy, we look at our ancestors through time lines, or mile markers on the road map of their lives. I begins with their birth, and ends with their death. In between are the significant pit stops. We look at baptisms, graduations, weddings, etc. How often do we think past these milestones? It takes drive to get to them; it takes lots of fueled persistence.
My son has been trying for weeks to roll over. He has spent lots of time on his belly, and we have encouraged him, and aided him in this process. We watched him learn that he has to lift his legs and kick them over to roll from back to belly. We watched him fail several times. And try again. Persist.
I may not know when my great grandmother first rolled over. But she did. And her mother was probably so proud. As I am today.
Milestones amaze me. During the first year, I'm finding out, they're frequent. The first laugh. The first time he holds a bottle. The first time he eats pureed food. Then he crawls. Then he walks. And talks. They're hard to keep up with, really.
As we get older, these milestones are fewer and farther between. At 16 we get our driver's license. At 18 we graduate high school. And vote. At 21 we can legally drink. We may also have college graduations, begin our careers, have weddings, and babies. Finally, we stop once every 10 years to celebrate the passing of another decade.
In genealogy, we look at our ancestors through time lines, or mile markers on the road map of their lives. I begins with their birth, and ends with their death. In between are the significant pit stops. We look at baptisms, graduations, weddings, etc. How often do we think past these milestones? It takes drive to get to them; it takes lots of fueled persistence.
My son has been trying for weeks to roll over. He has spent lots of time on his belly, and we have encouraged him, and aided him in this process. We watched him learn that he has to lift his legs and kick them over to roll from back to belly. We watched him fail several times. And try again. Persist.
I may not know when my great grandmother first rolled over. But she did. And her mother was probably so proud. As I am today.
I like your blog...I really relate to it.
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