The other night I traded in genealogy for mowing the lawn. Traded in might not be the proper way to describe it. It was more like I had to postpone the genealogy for cutting the grass. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have a great lawn mower, plus I live on a corner lot, so there is a lot of grass to cut, and the heat sweltered. Here in Mississippi we cut lawns in the sauna.

When I finished the task, I had to bag and blow the clippings, put the tools away, and finish some edging too. Needless to say, I would have preferred to spend my time climbing the family tree. I mean, I did think about it most of the time I pushed that lawn mower back and forth across the grass.

Eventually, I finished, right about the time the sun was setting. I showered, got dressed, sat down at my desk intending to work on genealogy, but played with Lego instead. You see, I’m building this really cool Haunted House. It’s got ghosts and skeletons and creepy clowns. And while I was building, guess what? I still thought about genealogy.

Unfortunately, my body refused to do it. I was tuckered out, as they say. I had already spent the day at work only to come home and work outside. I wanted to do other things, but I needed a rest.

For those of you who are passing genealogists, please remember, genealogy is work. Creating timelines and tables and citations and family trees and books and case studies takes time and effort. My body knew this and directed me to do other things. Once I realized what was going on, I went with it. No matter how much there is to work on when it comes to genealogy, there is never anything wrong with taking care of the mind and body first.

I mention this because I believe it is important to let the good things in life come to you. To let them happen in their proper time. Take these blogs I write. If I stress out over topic and ideas, if I try forcing a blog to be “good,” I will most likely not produce anything at all. But if I take care of the mind and body, I tend to produce better work.

The same can be said of many pursuits including athletics, academics, work, play. Our minds and bodies frequently need a reset. Anyway, I played with Lego for the night. I allowed myself to get some rest.

I know this concept worked for me because after I rested up and went back to genealogy the next day, I found a treasure trove of documents concerning my dad’s family. I found so much stuff I have never seen that it will take me weeks to sort through it all.

I am convinced that I found the information because I was rested and allowed myself to take some downtime when I needed it. I came back to my projects with a clarity of mind I wouldn’t have had I worked on the project tired, sluggish, and bleary eyed. The rest allowed me to think, ask questions, and plan some research activities. So please, take this as your friendly reminder to allow yourself a little rest and relaxation when necessary. I mean, life can’t all be the fun and games genealogy brings us. If you need to, relax a bit and then come back to the topic excited and willing to get the job done.

It will work wonders. I promise.