family – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2026, family

Finding Your Relatives

Posted on August 8, 2026August 8, 2026 by nancyb422

*My mother (front left) and family about mid-1942*

I follow a few other ancestry writers and one of them, Trisha, introduced me to a great show on BYU TV called “Relative Race”.

Four teams, in cars, start out from the same location in different directions with an individual time allotted that includes a challenge once they get to the town of their relative.

Using only paper maps from one location to the next, their clock stops when they get to the home of their relative.

They introduce themselves, and ask “whose relative are you?” On some teams, it might be only one person searching for relatives, on other teams, both.

They meet and visit with their relatives, and it looks to me like on some occasions they meet the relative at an Airbnb set up by production.

That night, the teams get on a Group FaceTime type chat, Dan the host comes on and he will announce the winner for the day. They are the team that came closest to their allotted time. The loser is the one who took the longest. If they are last for the day, they get a strike. 3 strikes and you’re out. Goodbye, go home (although they still got to meet the relatives just not on camera). Season 16, appears to be different and the team with 3 strikes still travels, but maybe they just don’t get a chance for the $10,000 prize at the end when they do the big, final challenge. I’m at that episode now!

Did I mention, they give up their phones and only have flip phones? Yes! They can text each other, which on occasion they do. Dan texts them in the morning with their next destination, welcomes them when they arrive to the town with their challenge location, and when that’s complete gives them the relative’s location.

The race is run primarily on the East Coast. But one season had them all over the United States and then flew the people who ended up in California back to the final location. This season they started in Alabama. One team has gone to Louisiana and Texas, another upper Florida and Georgia, another North Carolina, to Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and another to North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana.

The teams themselves and the family they are seeking tugs at my heart strings. It isn’t run-of-the-mill relatives they are looking for, it is FAMILY. The majority were adopted at birth or a very young age. Some knew they were adopted, some only found out a few years ago. You hear their stories at the beginning of the season and again throughout the season but not to excess.

Maybe I enjoy this show because we found out my mother had a different father than her siblings! She had passed away years before we found out, but it made me wonder if there were differences in looks and personality that made anyone go “hmmm”.

Obviously, DNA testing is done prior to all this and family members contacted to see if they would be willing to meet with the contestant. Once they are selected, I’m sure they are situated for maximum show drama impact!

In earlier seasons, teams weren’t always very nice to each other. A team each season would really be looking to get the edge on everyone else. Sometimes the daily winners get to put a time penalty on another team and they would target a team to ensure a strike. but every season the show evolves and those types of “rewards” have gone by the wayside.

You can find BYU TV in your streaming channels if you have a Smart TV or you can watch episodes on YouTube through the Relative Race channel.

If you love heartwarming family reunions with a little suspense thrown in, you will enjoy this show!

Here’s a link to Trisha’s blog post about her love for the show!

Have you ever watched it and if so, did you enjoy it?

2025, family, life

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2025 by nancyb422

*My sweet mini Christmas tree and the morning sunrise*

Christmas Day, re-birth, a new beginning. Like a precursor to the new year. I’ll spend the week, contemplating the past year and the year ahead.

My husband and I have opened our presents, all purchased by me this past Saturday. Various candies we enjoy, a book, puzzle, and gift cards. Gone are the days of agonizing over what to buy because we spent so little on ourselves through the year, it felt like we “needed” everything. Now, we need nothing, want nothing.

Our son and daughter-in-love will come over mid-morning for a late breakfast and to exchange presents. I’m grateful they live a few miles away, and more grateful that they want to be with us in the morning.

After they leave, I’ll break open my new puzzle – White Mountain brand, Saturday Cartoons – and we’ll watch Arthur Christmas, which was recommended on my “Ordinary and Happy” December 25th Daily Planner. I was not successful completing any of the suggested items but Today is always a great day to start.

I hope your day is a blessed one where ever and how ever you spend it.

2025, family

Wedding Review

Posted on November 17, 2025November 16, 2025 by nancyb422

My niece’s wedding is over and we are back home. Although the venue was an hour 20 minutes away, for old folks like us, we’d rather stay over than drive home in the dark.

It was held in the area of Connecticut I love most, the northeast corner for the state, better known as “the quiet corner”. It happens to be the area where my college was located before it closed in 1980, so no wonder I love it!

We drove up to the hotel in Dayville, a Comfort Inn & Suites which was a very nice hotel and 10 minutes from the venue, checked in and headed off to Putnam to join my family from Maine at lunch. Putnam has gone from a New England mill town, to a rundown town with a K-Mart when I was there, to a destination for antique shopping, biking, hiking, and leaf peeping. There are 5 or 6 restaurants to choose from right in the main area of town, and plenty of parking, and the lots were filled when we arrive at 1pm!

After lunch we all headed back to the hotel to get ready. I had showered in the morning and had my hairdresser wash and dry my hair at her salon. That isn’t something I normally do, but I thought about it far enough in advance and she had time to do it.

We left for the venue – Pinecroft Estate with plenty of time to spare. They wanted everyone there at 3:30 to have everyone gather in the heated tent and proceed to the outdoor area for the ceremony. Being mid-November in Northern Connecticut it was chilly, and I was glad I had my coat!

It was a beautiful, and short, ceremony. My sister and her husband escorted my niece down the aisle and her sister was her matron of honor. We all got teary-eyed.

After the ceremony, the photographer had everyone, wedding party and approximately 90 guest, stand in front of the barn for a group picture. I stuck my head next to my sister so we look like conjoined twins in the picture!

Everything about the reception was perfect. The tent, connected to the reception barn, was beautifully heated and, of course, had sides to it. Inside was a couch and chairs, metal outdoor tables and chairs, and one of two bars. The hors-d’oeuvres table was here along with servers passing food.

Once we got into the barn, the festivities began! The wedding party and parents were introduced, the first dance was danced, and the speeches completed.

The efficiency of the staff was incredible. The servers blended in and were never in the way. The food was prepared in the house next to the barn and delivered 4 or 6 plates at a time. My husband and I had pumpkin raviolis in Sage butter sauce.

The wedding cake was a small one that the bride and groom cut, but for the guests there was a cookie table along with coffee and tea.

Once the dancing started, my son, his wife, and my nieces and nephews never left the dance floor! I don’t know how they do it! We especially enjoy watching my niece and her husband and told her it’s evident where her 6 year old daughter gets her theatrical nature.

We were there from 4pm to 9:30pm and we couldn’t believe how it felt so much longer! But the end rolled around and we got our coats and left. Some family members continued on in the hotel lobby, but my husband and I headed to our room.

We saw most of the family in the lobby for our hotel continental breakfast before we all headed home. It was so nice to be together and we will see most of them again at our family Christmas party next month.

*Family photo taken while family photo was being taken!*

2025, family

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

Posted on November 15, 2025November 13, 2025 by nancyb422

My first born niece is getting married today. The last of the five cousins to marry. There is only a 2 year span between the five, split between mine (1 boy), my twin (2 girls, one being the bride), and our 18 month older sister (1 girl, 1 boy).

My sisters had their first born daughters only 7 months apart. The last three are steps on a ladder with my son born in July, my niece born in August, and my nephew born in September all in the same year.

It’s been fun that they are so close in age, they all get along very well, and their spouses fit right in.

My sister was four months pregnant when I moved to California in 1987. The first time I met my niece was when my husband and I came back to Connecticut to get married in May of 1988 and she was 3 months old. It was love at first sight.

I’ll be thinking of that first meeting as she walks down the aisle!

2025, family, life

Veterans In My Family

Posted on November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 by nancyb422

In honor of Veterans Day, I’m sharing the story I wrote in June of 2024 for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge on my family blog. It’s called, The Effects of War. There are links within “The Effects of War” that share the details of their time served.

Beginning with World War I, there was my biological maternal grandfather, Jacob Engram and my paternal grandfather, Charles Jakiela.

My Great Uncle Bronislaw Liro went back to Poland before World War I broke out, fought for the Austrian Army, was captured, and escaped from Siberia.

World War II saw my Uncle Connie and my dad enlist in the Army Air Force and my Uncle Walt and Uncle Mal in the Navy. My Uncle Walt lived through the horror of Pearl Harbor 3 weeks fresh out of Navy radio school.

While cleaning out my aunt’s home, I found a letter from my Great Uncle Antoni written in 1947 describing the aftermath of World War II.

My father in law Harold served in the Korean War as a cook, his brother Ronald as an infantry tank driver, and my step father in law Paul was in the motor pool.

It’s an honor to have these brave men in my family.

2025, family, life, Memories

A Sunday Morning

Posted on June 29, 2025 by nancyb422

This morning I sit in the spot my father occupied most evenings during the summer as I grew up.

In his webbed chair that glided back and forth, he’d sit with his cup of tea after dinner and watch the neighborhood go by. We might sit near by on the metal couch glider reading a book.

Was he surveying what needed to be done around the yard? Mowing the lawn was the main focus as there were no shrubs and the trees and bushes were growing “naturally”. He was not a man who enjoyed taking care of yard work and we three girls did our share of mowing the lawn (we enjoyed the exercise!). Or was he just enjoying the view, our company, and counting his blessings?

I know he would have sat here on a Sunday morning like I am as there would be a flurry of preparation for 9:15 mass. But after Sunday midday dinner, he’d be here listening to his radio with a ballgame on or country music, watching the neighborhood go by.

2025, family, Home, life, Writing

This Weather!

Posted on June 9, 2025 by nancyb422

Here in Connecticut, it has rained at some point during 15 consecutive weekends. Maybe one day, maybe both days.

When we moved back here in 1995, me, the Connecticut native, told my husband, the California native to expect at least one day on a summer weekend to be rainy. I think I did pretty good with that assessment. Overall, this has been a Really Wet Year and it doesn’t look like much is changing.

Now that we are in “summer”, the humidity rises. And falls. And rises. I can handle it but my poor husband suffers from the Jekyll and Hyde atmospheric pressures. Vertigo, sinus conditions, headache – he’s had them all!

Do you have constantly changing weather where you live?

Books, family, Home, life, Memories, thoughts, Writing

My Road to Motherhood

Posted on May 11, 2025 by nancyb422

It wasn’t a smooth path. There were bumps, and potholes, and, what felt like, a mountain to climb.

But in the end, there he was.

“Motherhood is seeing your heart walking around outside your body and hoping the world is gentle with it” – Elizabeth Stone

I was not prepared for a boy. I thought “ugh, messy, muddy, eating everything in sight”. But he was not.

He was sweet, not messy/muddy, but still had a mind of his own. He would tell me how pretty I looked and ask, “is that a new dress?”

I’m now a mother of a 35 year old married man.

He is still sweet and thoughtful and I’m grateful to be his mother.

2025, family, Holidays, leisure time, life, Memories

New York! New York!

Posted on May 7, 2025 by nancyb422

New York, New York, what a wonderful town
The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down!
—from On Our Way with Gene Kelly

My first memory of visiting New York City is when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. It was a Columbus Day trip with my mother, two sisters, aunt, and cousin and our destination was the Statue of Liberty.

We took the Metro North train out of New Haven and got on the subway heading to Battery Park. We were looking for the Bowling Green stop but how we missed it a few times! We probably headed into Brooklyn and then had to get back on in the direction we came from. We made it to the Statue and had a great time, and I got a pen in the gift shop with a floating statue.

The next time I traveled into the city it was with my sisters during Christmas time. Those trips bring back memories of Crabtree and Evelyn scents and Dansko clogs! We would visit Rockefeller Center to see the tree and shop.

When I lived in California, I always raved about New York, and must have been incredibly obnoxious! San Francisco just didn’t compare.

After we moved back to Connecticut, my sisters and I would take our kids into the city to wander. We weren’t very comfortable on the subway – we didn’t want to get lost – so we dragged the kids all over the place on foot! One trip by the time we got the Met on 82nd Street, they were exhausted already! They were very happy when we were finally comfortable enough to take the subway.

My husband is now my favorite traveler to New York. We’ve gone for concerts and basketball games at Madison Square Garden, stayed a few days at a time to shop at Christmastime, and this year I’ve (dragged him along) taken him to a broadway play, with more to come.

Today we headed in for a short trip to see the newly re-opened Frick Collection. We had an early lunch before our 12:30 check in. The museum isn’t very large so we saw all we needed to see in an hour. We were headed home on the 2:04pm train.

We’ll be back down there in early June with my husband’s aunt and uncle from California. Tickets have been purchased for a play (Six), tickets for the Vessel, and ideas ready for dinners. I can’t wait!

What’s your favorite place to visit and how often do you get there?

2025, family, Holidays, Home, life, Writing

Waiting for Santa

Posted on May 1, 2025February 8, 2026 by nancyb422

Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

View all responses

My favorite holiday is definitely Christmas!

I remember my dad bringing out the movie camera during the 1960s, along with the bank of lights attached to the top, and blinding us as we walked down the stairs to see what Santa brought. We’d view those movies during the summer and watch as he reversed and moved forward the moment when my sister tumbled down the stairs. Down she’d go, only to fly back up the stairs!

Every Christmas, my mother’s family got together at one sibling’s house or my grandmother’s. Presents would get tossed around, and a shaker of Brandy Alexander would be ready to be poured.

The family celebration has migrated to a weekend before Christmas, so families traveling from out of state can attend and then have their holiday at home.

My husband and I host it every year, and we have had anywhere from 15 (2021 after COVID) to 30 people with us. Before our family room addition, it was a tight squeeze – we even had people sitting in the front hallway and on the stairs to the second floor! But now with the extra space and the open floor plan, no one is without a seat.

I’m not big on decorating, and shopping for gifts is stress-inducing, but I really like getting everyone together!