During the pandemic, I started a poem-a-day challenge via email with my grandmother, and it quickly snowballed into an extended-family affair, with cousins of every level, great-aunts, and relatives I wasn’t even sure I knew the word for joining in. The past year or two certainly challenged us to find new ways to connect, but more than that, it highlighted the importance of connection. Creating a family tree can serve a similar purpose as my family’s poetry challenge, reaching out through a family’s different branches, discovering people we may not have known about, and providing an activity to bond over. As families continue to reunite, family trees offer practical value as well, helping manage guest lists and reminding you of your third-cousin’s name and who their parents are.
Over the…
