Promise of Something New

There was this time in the early 90s when I felt the world was full of potential, especially in autumn when the air was so cool and crisp. That potential tends to hang at times now, lurking, almost beckoning - a promise, so right and fertile.

The idea of being a teacher in a small town with crisp autumn air, harvest festivals and apple cider -there are just so many images, smells and sounds that bring me back to that potential, to the person I was and to a promise but I haven't felt in a really long time.

It is so crazy how that promise of something new is so fleeting.

I have often wrote about the promise of something new as being the most wonderful gift any of us can have.

Driving to work this morning, it was drizzling; and it was cool outside. Somehow, the whisper of that promise seeped through the dampness; and I am pulled backward in time to a place where my heart and mind were full of potential and promise. Forcing all the current worries aside, I tried desperately to hang onto that feeling. As it retreated - quietly and quickly as it had entered - I ached. I felt a sadness for its absence.

Memories are like that...........they drift in and out at unexpected times.

Using this experience as a gauge of my "hope" level, I realize that I am pretty much out of hope. This does not mean that I don't feel the level rising, but t he last couple of years has drained my hope levels.

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Mitchells in the Revolutionary War

The next line I tackled was the Mitchell family. My great grandmother was Artha B Mitchell (1883 - 1977). I can barely remember her. I was ten years old when she died. She was the daughter of Francis Marion Mitchell (1855 - 1904). It is Francis's grandfather, Andrew Mitchell, Jr. (1760 - 1824) who served in the Revolutionary War. It is truly a story worthy of legend. Andrew was one of 3 sons born to Irish immigrants Andrew and Mary (McGowan) Mitchell. The young family came to the colonies in 1752. They began their journey in a Scottish - Irish community in Eastern Pennsylvania before migrating to Orange County, North Carolina. Besides the boys, Andrew and Mary had 2 daughters, Margaret and Nancy. At the time of the Revolution, my 5th great grandfather, Andrew, Jr was just starting his family. He had married Mary Tate in 1781. He was in service but took furlough to be with his ill wife. This informa...

Revolutionary War beginnigns

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