I’m finishing up with my portfolio for submission to the Board for Certification of Genealogists and
I have butterflies in my stomach! Officially,
I have until late October but since I selected several papers that I had
previously done for clients last fall and winter, I am about finished.
At the National Genealogical Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, I was able to view successful portfolios that were submitted. I also found it useful to be able to pick the
brains of some of the Certified Genealogists (CGs) that attended the "On the Clock" dinner. So glad I was able to attend and meet several
other “On the Clockers” and those on the other side.
Additionally, the National Genealogical Society conference
enabled me to further refine my skills and now I pulled out the Kinship Determination Paper I
finished last month and reread it yesterday. I caught one missing comma and changed one sentence. I'm satisfied with the content and the numbering so I just need to take another look at my footnotes. I had bolded a few that I knew weren’t quite
right as I was so into the writing I didn’t want to stop and lose the momentum.
I also need to make sure I’ve been
consistent with my citations. The next few weeks I'm busy with other tasks so I probably won't revisit it until mid-June.
I’m still uncertain
if I should hold off portfolio submission until after an upcoming trip to DC
this summer or not. On the one hand, I
want to submit before I get extremely busy with my full time job in late
July. On the other hand, I have this
nagging feeling that the missing record in Pennsylvania will miraculously show
up if I look one more time. The document
was supposedly misfiled in the 1960’s and hasn’t been found since. Why in the world I think if I look again I’ll
find it now I don’t know! I’ve already
looked twice over the past 5 years AND hired someone to try to find it. Clearly the “3rd time’s the charm!”
as my mom used to say didn’t happen and a fourth visit would be beyond
reasonably exhaustive. My thought process is bordering on irrational
and I realize that. This certainly is like the tongue in cheek meaning of insanity - doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result!
Reflecting on my behavior I see this as déjà vu – I did the
same thing when I was ready to submit my portfolio to the National Board of Certified Teachers
several years ago. One morning I woke up
and I knew that there was no more I could do so I just packed it all up and
mailed it off. Even so, I stood in
Office Depot and just stared at the box.
The clerk was nice, though I’m sure she thought I was nuts. She told me to take as long as I wanted. As soon as she said that, I was able to let it
go.
Now I have to decide if I’m going to send it snail mail or
electronically. Decisions,
decisions! Another way to procrastinate
finality! Will keep you informed...
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