In July this year the Irish Central Statistics Office announced that the back page of their Census 2021 form will be left blank for each citizen to write their own personalised ‘time capsule’ message for future generations and historians.  This will be locked away for 100 years before being made available in 2121.  Imagine how excited we as genealogy enthusiasts would be, if we knew that the census about to be released would include not just our ancestor’s handwriting, but an actual message dedicated to us!

This is a world first.  No other country has ever done it.  But if you had the opportunity, what would you write?

Why not do it anyway?!

A couple of years ago I came across a list of prompts for writing about your own life.  Produced by FamilySearch, 52 Questions in 52 Weeks is designed to be tackled over a year.  There are also some additional questions in case you want to substitute any in the main list.  Of course, there are no rules.  Take as long as you like, and go off on whatever tangents are important to you.  It is good, though, to be guided through in these bite-size chunks.  If you’re lucky enough still to have older generations to talk to, why not ask them to do it too?

*****

I’ll be taking a break now, and will return on 24th January.  Until then, I’d like to thank you for accompanying me on my genealogy journey; and above all, I wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas and a very happy 2020.