My mom does genealogy. In the last few years I have done a little research for her and for some friends. My most recent project was tracing the Thomson-Ruby families looking for some Jewish roots. I didn’t find any, but did find some interesting things – ancestors who fought on both sides of the Civil War and those who escaped religious persecution in Scotland.

Today I was helping my mom clean out her closet, well, at least part of it. There was a box of photos and papers that I said I’d go through after I ate my lunch. I found some old family photos. I resisted the urge to discard photos of me in a bikini about age 7. Okay, I did discard one but it was taken from a distance. Also in the box were some interesting documents from the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) where my dad worked. At the bottom of the box were scouting books and magazines from my brothers and probably my cousins. I put the magazines in order by date and realized there were two copies of one issue (the cover had fallen off one). On the one with a missing cover I noticed a signature in the upper right corner. It’s Mrs. Ruby – my friend’s mom whose family I was tracing! How it came in to our possession, we’re not sure. I called my friend and told her what I found. She confirmed her mother-in-law was a cub scout den leader at one point.

As they say in Disney World, “It’s a small world after all.”

I was scrapbooking with friends this weekend and found a stamp I had purchased. “Even if there’s nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit.” Keep looking for those reasons to laugh and smile. It’s good for your body and your soul.