Me, Myself, and I
For 2023, I’m writing responses to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompts provided by Amy Johnson Crow on her ”Generations Café” website and Facebook page.
You all know the phrase – “the dictionary definition of [insert word here] includes his picture.” I have a real-life example of this: the Wikipedia entry for “polymath” (meaning someone who knows a lot about a lot of things) uses a picture of Benjamin Franklin to illustrate the concept. I found this out when I was working on an Osher class about Franklin; I wanted to call the class “American Polymath,” because I had heard the word and thought that Franklin might be a good exemplar of the concept. I turned to Wikipedia and there, lo and behold, was Ben. Here’s the proof:
This week’s prompt made me wonder – what concept would the dictionary (or Wikipedia) use a picture of me to illustrate? Who am I (or me, or myself) that makes me an exemplar of anything?
I am a lot of things – woman, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother – but these descriptions don’t differentiate me from the hundreds of millions of people who fit these characteristics.
I am also a teacher, reader, writer, genealogist, intermediate-level pianist, singer, walker, traveler, French speaker, planner, organizer, designer of PowerPoints, spreadsheet creator/analyst, political junkie, decent cook, decent driver, podcast listener, eager student. But again, a lot of people fit these categories.
By nature, I am extroverted, open-minded, empathetic, curious, reasonably creative, independent, generous, silly, helpful, pedantic, sometimes irritable, and occasionally forgetful.
I am a casual art gallery visitor, theater-goer, and concert attendee.
I am definitely not a gardener, theme park enthusiast, beachgoer, surfer, skydiver, scuba diver, avid sports fan, daytime TV watcher, club-goer, or athlete.
But is there any one thing that would define me? I looked at my schedule for this fall, and I saw things that began to fit together.
I made two driving trips – one to family in Georgia and one to New Jersey for a week of poking around to see what we could see.
I have written a Substack post every weekday – Mondays are for genealogy, Tuesdays for my local adult education program, Wednesdays are about local news, Thursdays focus on International News, and Fridays are about national political news.
I have worked on three upcoming Osher classes – one on Westward Expansion, one of Ben Franklin (a revision of the class I mentioned earlier), and one on genealogy.
I have submitted a proposal to teach a genealogy course at Chautauqua, NY, next summer.
I have self-published the book Tim and I wrote about our trip to England last September.
I have attended a bunch of Osher classes – on music, writing, constitutional history, the Vietnam War, the January 6 Committee Investigation, the disappearing islands of the Chesapeake Bay.
I have tutored my learner at Literacy for Life several times and attended the organization’s major fundraiser (also with my learner).
I have volunteered at the Tidewater Genealogical Society Library a couple of times a week. I am now serving as the Acting President of this organization.
I hosted a genealogy workshop at the TGS library one Saturday a month.
I served as a volunteer at a WWI History expo at the Newport News War Museum one Sunday morning.
I have walked a lot – 76 miles in September, about 60 miles in October, and fewer miles in November and December as the weather worsened.
I have written one column a month for the local newspaper The Virginia Gazette. This column, entitled Did You Know That? focuses on lesser-known aspects of living in Williamsburg. To write this column, I find I have to focus on things going on around me so that I can pick a topic each month.
I have assisted two Osher instructors with the preparation of their presentations.
I have attended monthly meetings of the Tribe Club, the local W&M Alumni Association.
I have linked up with the Lifelong Learning Society of Christopher Newport University and will be teaching for them starting in the spring.
It was revealing to put this list together. I think it reveals the clearest definition of “me, myself, and I” that I can come up with right now – I revel in being busy. When I turned again to Wikipedia, I found an entry for “busy work” – which it defines as “an activity that is undertaken to pass time and stay busy but in and of itself has little or no actual value.” This made me think a little – maybe I value “staying busy” because it passes the time. Busy work doesn’t appear to produce any real value, and I may be guilty of some of that. Sometimes I do things and wonder “Why am I doing this, anyway?”
“Busy” can have some negative meanings. A “busy-body” is a nosy person who is “all up in your business.” “Getting busy” has sexual connotations and I’m not going there. The word can imply being “all over the place,” substituting activity for accomplishment. We sometimes talk about “keeping busy” when we are recovering from some disastrous event – a family problem, a natural disaster, or an international event like a regional war. We value putting “one foot in front of the other” and keeping busy as a way to avoid despair.
I don’t think I’m motivated by these negative meanings, but maybe I am in some fashion.
So this is the Wikipedia entry that would be illustrated by my picture:
This is the best description I can write of who I am – the “me, myself, and I” that I walk around in every day.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. See you on the flip side.
After reading how busy you are….I think I’ll take a nap!
Thanks for sharing your interesting thoughts and perspectives with us throughout the year.
Thanks for the prompt for introspection, but after reading your post I just feel like I'm lazy! Happy New Year to the busiest (in the best way) person I know!