New Beginnings
Thinking about what's ahead.
Welcome to my last blog post of 2024! What a year it has been. It was a year of genealogical discovery, advocacy frustration, and all-around challenges at many stages.
While I’m very proud of my accomplishments, I don’t think it would warrant a separate post covering what I’ve done over the year. I’m conscious of not seeming like someone who toots their own horn a lot, and I feel like I already do that - so I don’t want to keep adding to it. Not to mention, chances are I had already written about it in a post!
As 2024 is about to leave us in a few days, if anything, I’m more curious about the future. I know I will often sound like a broken record but I long for the day that survivors of mother and baby homes receive proper justice and are not just pushed to the side. I try to do my bit but wonder if it’ll ever be enough. It still hurts that a good bit of what was found by the Commission will not be released until 2050. (Only 25 years to go…) I made headway on one child in a Dublin institution whose death I hope to register. (I’ll talk about that more in a future blog post.)
But, that’s not to say I’m not looking forward to seeing what it holds. More genealogy and other research for me, I know that for sure. However, I’m dually aware that we live in surreal times and that the world can be really scary too (saying that as I see coverage on all kinds of world events) - so while it might be looking bright for me, that is a large contrast from other parts of the world
One other thing I always make sure to commemorate is my grandmother. Two minutes to midnight (which is when this blog post is scheduled to be sent out) on December 31st, 1994 — my grandmother Kathleen died. Today marks her 30th anniversary. Cancer cruelly took her from us at 58. I can only imagine how different things might have been had she still been with us.
As always, thank you to all who supported me by reading my posts and interacting with me online, whether that is sharing my posts or my research with a wider audience—every little bit has helped me. [And as a very small blogger, just finishing the year with 384 subscribers on here is amazing to me. So here’s hoping I get to connect with more of you in 2025!]
Daniel, You have accomplished so much in your short life. Congratulations on you successes, I look forward to following you in 2025 and beyond.
Happy New Year from Downunder.
Happy New Year, Daniel. I love reading your stories and what a beautiful tribute to your beloved grandmother.