#modern families

[familywebs]

Hi!

This is a genealogy blog for the modern family. I prefer the image of a spiderweb or atomic connections to that of a tree. Trees are a great family image but can also be hierarchical, imposing, and top-down instead of centered on the leaves themselves. Modern family genealogy (or family history) can often be complicated, sometimes frustrating, and frequently unravels by the smallest bits.

I will occasionally post about the world of genealogy and family history, particularly how it grows and develops to include BiPoC, LGBTQIA+, and blended families. I'll also post about DNA as it affects modern families. Sometimes I may describe my progress in becoming a professional genealogist, tell some stories from my own research, and give tips for chronicling your own family if it is like mine ... more of a tangled ball of yarn than a glorious family pedigree.

Credits: My header image is by Katrin Hauf on Unsplash. My profile image is of a spinal cord motor neuron from the Bioscience Image Library by Fayette Reynolds on Unsplash.

[fiercemillennial]

The Rise of the Very Online Dad: A Look at Fatherhood in the Digital Age

Are you following a Very Online Dad? Tag your favorites below! #VeryOnlineDad #ModernFatherhood #ParentingInTheDigitalAge #FierceLiving #FierceMillennial #Connect&Thrive

From wholesome memes to parenting advice, a new generation of dads is finding their voice (and their followers) online. Into the World of the Very Online Dad In the ever-evolving social media landscape, a new type of digital dad has emerged – the Very Online Dad. Gone are the days of simply putting up a few awkward vacation photos on Facebook. Today’s dads are building communities, sparking…

[book-place-incorrect-quotes]

Bruce: I raised five perfectly functional children

Y/N: *tearing up* You have five other children we don’t know about?!

[demigods-posts]

imagine percy swimming to the bottom of the ocean. not to save a group of sea creatures. not to show off his skillset. and not to prance around as the sea god's favorite son. but to join the ocean in all that it is. laying in the soft sand and watching the fish swim by. the lobsters making space for him as he rests his head against a patch of seaweed. him laughing at the irony. imagine percy making small talk with all the different sea creatures and assigning them names. him actually running into a whale he named phillip who's on his way to propose to his boyfriend. and percy wishing him good luck and offering his blessing on their union. imagine percy making small talk with the starfish about his favorite dinosaur. and explaining to the collective group what a dinosaur is and why they don't need to worry about them reaching the bottom of the ocean. just. percy immersiving himself in all that's aquatic because it's where he can be his most self.

[liv45no]

Ted: dating a Black is great.

James: so great!

Remus: the best!

Ted: but they tend to be a tad judgmental.

James: almost punitive.

Remus: they are monsters.

Ted: that’s why the three of us formed a secret alliance to help each other cover up our little mistakes :)

[littlelightfish]

Them <3

[batfamgalore]

*They’re at a gala and Damian is self conscious because Bruce is giving a lot of attention to someone else’s baby and now Damian is trying to convince Jason that he’s better*

Jason: You’re right, you’re way cuter than a baby. I’m gonna go check on dinner.

*Walks away, turns to Dick who was watching the whole interaction*

Jason: Sometimes I like to just toss a grenade and run away.

[canisalbus]

✦ Trick or treat ✦

[dannymans66]

Childhood memories

[incorrectbatfam]

Dick: Damian likes to win.

Dick: When he was eight, a little Girl Scout friend of his bragged she could sell the most cookies.

Dick: Damned if Damian didn’t walk the neighborhood 'til he got blisters on his feet and won by ten boxes.

Dick: Best part is, Damian wasn’t even a Girl Scout.

[deathnguts]

Narcissa: We decided that if, Merlin forbid, anything happens to us, we would like regulus to be Draco’s god parent

Regulus: That is great news! Draco! When something horrible happens, you��ll be all mine!

Lucius: It really is an ‘if’ situation-

Regulus, already holding Draco: All mine!

[familywebs]

Health

I’m currently in that special time in a woman’s life, many of you know the one, when you are several decades old and your body suddenly decides your life isn’t hard enough. You have plenty to do … getting your offspring through their final years of dependency, managing increasingly complicated financial affairs, coming to a point in your career where it’s either do or die, coping with the demands of significant others, and freaking out about the state of the world. It’s a lot. Then, your hormones change and stuff you thought you could count on, such as your energy levels or emotional resiliency, is gone. You don’t even recognize yourself anymore. In my case, I knew it was coming and I knew I’d reach a point where I had to figure out how to get through it. But what about when you don’t know it’s coming? It just happens, suddenly, due to factors outside of your control. That happened to my maternal grandmother. 

It’s the 1950s. One day she was puttering along in her mid-thirties, raising her five kids, still in a relatively young marriage, and active socially through her parish and bowling league. The next day it all changed, she had a total abdominal hysterectomy. My mother was very young at the time but she remembers that my grandmother was in the hospital for more than a month. And when she returned home she was never the same again. I don’t know what my grandmother knew about menopause, or what doctors told her would happen. I don’t even know what condition she had that necessitated the procedure. She would not have been given hormone replacement therapy which I don’t think came about until the 1960s. Dealing with sudden change is not one of my strengths in life. And I don’t know if it was one of hers either. My grandmother was viewed (by others who told me stories about her) as someone who showed her feelings for others through constant efforts to see that her loved ones were well taken care of, but she was also viewed as cold, critical, and judgmental. My mother said that she was a loving mom, affectionate with my grandfather, and engaged with life until her hysterectomy. Afterward, she quit clubs, began sleeping separately from my grandfather, and was often irritable. “Mean,” “tough old broad,” and “bitch” were tossed around by various relatives speaking of her. 

I think this mid-thirties plunge into menopause was a life-altering experience for her. And it was a life-altering experience for the family. I wonder how confusing it was for my mother who wasn’t even in school yet. Or how my grandfather felt because by all accounts he loved her deeply. They were a family that usually did not discuss their emotional fears and needs. When we think of family history we frequently chronicle who begat whom or dates and locations, but those are the physical details. Sometimes the emotional and mental health of people in the family have much greater impacts on relationships and connections than anything physical ever could. I see how chaotic and unbalanced my life feels right now, and I have such sympathy for a woman who had changed so dramatically thrust upon her sixty years ago.

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I'm following along with Amy Johnson Crow's excellent family history prompts, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This was the theme for week 23 (June 3-9). You can read more about my grandmother at her profile on WikiTree.

[fiercemillennial]

From Messy Beginnings to Modern Family: How Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz's Ex Found Common Ground

From messy beginnings to modern family goals! How Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz's ex found common ground after years of drama #BlendedFamily #CoparentingGoals #FierceRelationships #FierceMillennial #AliciaKeys #SwizzBeatz #Mashonda

For years, the narrative surrounding Alicia Keys‘ relationship with Swizz Beatz was dominated by headlines about cheating rumors and alleged drama with his ex-wife, Mashonda Tifrere. But in a refreshing turn of events, the story has evolved into one of unexpected friendship, co-parenting success, and a modern family defying expectations. From Turmoil to Transformation: It’s no secret that the…

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Riley Family c.2040

Col. Simon Riley, Charlotte Riley, Andrew Thomas Riley, Grace Jael RIley, Orion Elijah Riley

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A glimpse of the future. 'Ghost' is no more, 'Jade' is just a deary nickname, two little lives born out of love, and one stumbled upon them and lifted up along the way.

All because they shot at each other 💖👌

Hope you love it!

[manny-jacinto]

MODERN FAMILY (2009–2020) #05.17 'Other People's Children'

[usersitcom]

MODERN FAMILY — “Haley's 21st Birthday”