It was an interesting year at RootsTech for me. Mom ended up coming in to Utah the week of the event because my sister was having her gall bladder removed. During the week, she was helping Marinda do the lifting and such while she was in recovery, but on weekends, Marinda's husband Paul was around to help, so Mom was able to do things with my brother, Gerrit, and me. As usual, I had picked up a bunch of RootsTech tickets to see if I could convince others to come along with me. I hadn't had any success with that after hitting up the YSA stake and my new ward, so I still had tickets leftover. Since it's a special event that was going to absorb that Saturday she was here, Mom decided to come along with me.
The plan had been all set that we would go, but as the Saturday approached, the weather forecast started looking dicey. A pretty big snowstorm was predicted for Saturday, and the initial reports suggested it would start early in the day. That was worrisome, but I felt reassured a day or two in advance when the cold front was found to be moving slower than expected, delaying the likely snow until later in the day. Still, it looked like we might well have to skip the closing concert to beat the storm home. I was bummed about that prospect, but felt better knowing that we would at least get to attend the conference through the early afternoon.
We weren't eager to get up super early, so we missed the first session, which was Henry Louis Gates Jr. Fortunately, I was able to check out a recording of that after the fact and quite enjoyed it. He's a very personable fellow! We did show up with a bit of time to check in and look at the show floor a bit before President and Sister Oak's session, however. Because we were a little late, check in was super fast! I had read somewhere on a blog or maybe Instagram or something that Ancestry was doing a scavenger hunt thing where they would give you a button featuring a specific area of the world and if you could find the person who had been given your matching button, you would both get a prize. I thought this sounded like fun, so right after check in, I dragged Mom over there and we both got buttons. I think she got the Caucasus and I had East Midlands. We were on the show floor for about 10 minutes when a girl came up to Mom saying that her mother had the matching button! So the two of them went and stood in the prize line, and Mom got a water bottle. That was quick and pretty fun.
Soon after, the next session started. It was nice to hear from the Oaks. I always feel like the General Authority sessions at RootsTech feel too scripted and not quite as genuine as a result, but I liked getting to hear stories about their families. After that session, the class I wanted to attend was full, so we ended up in a session about using family history for missionary work. It was pretty similar to a class I had attended in a previous year, but we did do some role plays, which I think I pretty helpful. I'm a little out of practice on doing them, but it was like riding a bike more or less, I find I fall back into it pretty easily. Mom doesn't care for roleplays as much and instead was just chatting with the lady she was paired with. They were just excited about being something like 8th cousins.
Overall, the sessions weren't all that exciting to me this year. Because I've attended each year consecutively since moving here, I'm starting to see some of the same stuff addressed that I've heard before in the sessions. It may just mean that I need to actually purchase a ticket to the more targeted, interesting classes next year, but I don't really like spending money if I don't have to!
Somewhere in between sessions while we were in the crowded main hallway, I was accosted by a woman who said her son had my matching button. Sure enough, we were a match and also got a prize. For me, getting these pretty nice prizes was one of the most interesting and unique parts of the conference this year, and it was surprising that both Mom and I were able to find our matches basically with no work at all on our parts!
Mom had found a 5th cousin at the convention though the FamilySearch app feature enabled just for the event to help people find relatives also attending, and she had made arrangements to meet up with this woman for lunch. We waited a bit to meet her, but the plan fell through for some reason I don't recall, so we just went to lunch on our own. Mom was able to meet up with that relative and her husband later for a BYU sports event, though I can't remember which sport it was. I found it to be a pretty good illustration of the difference in approach between her and my approach to the day. She was most interested in making connections with people while I was most interested in engaging new ideas. In the end, she met her goal far better than I did since I didn't really learn anything new this year, though I still had a pleasant time.
The snow was still holding off according to the forecast, so we decided it was safe to stay for the concert after our late lunch. For the closing concert this year, they actually switched from the main hall to the Conference Center on the Square. They did a celebration of Mexican culture to go along with the Pixar movie Coco which had come out during the year. I really love that movie, and it was perfect for the conference because it it all about the power of connecting with deceased ancestors. They talked about it all throughout the conference, but it also inspired the concert. I loved the Mariachi band, the beautiful dancing, and the excellent singers. There were a lot of Hispanic attendees who came to the concert who appeared to not have gone to RootsTech, thus leading to the need for the Conference Center. It was pretty fun to observe their reactions throughout. They were really into everything performed, and often exuberantly shouted out in the midst of the acts. It was an interesting contrast to the silence during concerts that I'm used to. It made the atmosphere during the concert quite electric. I really enjoyed the concert a lot since I am quite fond of the styles of music presented.
We were fortunately able to leave quite quickly after the concert finished. This allowed us to arrive home just before the snow storm rolled it. From the pictures I saw and what I heard from friends up that direction, things were pretty sloppy in SLC the next day. I was very glad the storm hadn't prevented us from attending any of the events during the day. I had a good time at RootsTech this year, despite not learning a lot, thanks mostly to getting to go with Mom. It wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable on my own. I was very glad that the timing worked out so that she could come along.
No comments:
Post a Comment