Why we do genealogy?

Dear Jonathan and Alicia,
What great questions the two of you ask. There are several
reasons that genealogy sparked my interest.
First and foremost, my maternal grandfather and father knew so much
about their families--I thought that it would be a crime to ignore it.
I recall at a very young age listening to conversations of my
elders--some seemed like tall tales, others were hushed or spoken in
Spanish slang that I couldn't always understand. Then folks from the
old country would show up on my parent's doorsteps, and my parents would
try to describe their relationship to us. My dad would later call them
"paracaidistas" meaning that they literally fell out of the sky and onto
our doorstep like parachute jumpers. They were often looking for work
in the U.S. Often, if they were not close relatives, my father would
help them find work.
My maternal grandparents would also visit every 3-5 years. My
grandfather was very interested in his family tree, as well as my
grandmother's. In addition to being a dairy farmer, my grandfather was
also a surveyor which meant a lot of travelling from ranch to ranch
measuring folk's lands, and hand drawing maps for them. I still
remember his color pencils, rulers, etc.,. According to my mother, he
would come back from his travels, and relay genealogy information
regarding his wife's relatives. My mother would listen to his stories,
and would later help me in my research by telling me which ranchos they
had relatives on. Before my grandfather died, he did get my cousin to
write what he knew down (several generations). This has helped me a lot
in my research. I also recall visiting Mexico with my parents and
meeting many people, visiting places which would spark more stories.
Learning that my father's mother who died when he was 2 years
old was born in the same house as my mother, brought about more
questions. What was this woman like, and who had lived in this ranch
house. How did my grandfather acquire this, and what was his
relationship to my father's maternal line. Also, how are all these
Gutierrez tied to each other, and how are all these Padillas tied to
each other. Why does my family and folks from our towns look different,
and sometimes behave differently from the rest of Mexico? I am slowly
uncovering answers to all of these questions. I also have found that my
father and his family has some curious food practices which I thought
was the norm for Mexicans until I compared stories with other Mexicans
and then became friends with a Jewish woman. I have nothing concrete
here though, so many of my questions continue...
As a child, my father would also listen to family stories, and
later convey these and his family tree to me---mostly names back to
people born in the late 1700s. I recall that when my father was out of
reach, my mother would tell me that my Dad's stories were embellished,
and to not believe everything he said. I decided long ago that it was
my job to separate fact from fiction. It has been like a puzzle for me.
My father's stories did have some truth after all, and I was able to
prove some family lines that he had hoped I wouldn't. It's interesting
to see how we all fall into place in this vast family tree. I have also
placed some of these "paracaidistas" into the family tree. Even now
when I visit my father, he will have visitors who talk about who died,
who suffered this or that, stories from the past. I still listen
intently just in case they fit into my tree. I never come away with
nothing.
Now that my father is in his late 70's, and my mother has
dementia, he is sharing some skeletons which I had hoped didn't exist.
I have also run across some in my research. I always welcome the truth,
but sometimes it can be painful and uncomfortable. He has told me that
I need to know the truth although some of his family members would be
mad at him for sharing it all. I most likely will not write about some
of these things because they would only hurt people, and not help. The
majority of my family wants me to hurry up and share what I have. I am
fortunate in that they do value my research, but have been told by some
to leave the fairly new skeletons out. I will respect their wishes,
especially those which would only hurt living people, and serve no real
purpose.
Thanks again for asking such important questions. This will help us all
to write our family histories or at least get started.
Irma Gomez Gtz.
Northern California