Time

Time. It means different things to different people. Some times it goes by so slow, you think you're going to scream and sometimes it goes by so fast, you wonder where it went.  

I've been working back in time. By that I'm talking about the genealogy. I've been working on a "time line" for my Kelly family. The Kelly family is my father's mother family.  When I submerge into working/researching and deal with the names and dates, it becomes second nature to think about "what was it like back then"? 

I found some city directories from the town the Kelly's lived in in Massachusetts. They skipped some years in between, but from 1886 to the mid 1960's, the Kelly's were alive and well.  The city directories are fascinating in reading from one year to the next as you follow the families growth and dispersal over time.  They tell you when someone in the family "removed to another town". They tell you when someone died when the survivor is listed as the "widow of".  They tell you where your ancestors were employed and on occasion, the address of where they were employed. You can tell who is related by the number of people residing at each address. Even children that were students in High School were listed. That's a great number of years in those city directories!

                 Kelly Brothers circa late 1920's early 1930's                      

                 Kelly Bros.building in 1996

My great grandfather, John B. Kelly owned a furniture manufacturing company in this town. At one point or another, he employed more than 75% of his relatives living in that town. Not that he employed them all at once, he didn't, but over time, he did. Over time, the company went from making reed baby carriages to living room and dining room furniture. 

Over time, the family moved on. My parents moved south to Tennessee. My siblings live in Tennessee, Louisiana and California. My children live in Texas and Tennessee. 

I was in Texas when my grandson was born. I was there when he turned six months old. He has just turned a year old last month. That time was gone in the blink of an eye.  This month, in a few days actually, my oldest son will turn 29.  Now where did THAT time go?  

Time. Hold it softly, it won't be here long.