Archive prep and nervous energy

Carmen texted back this morning - her mom can meet Thursday afternoon. Which means I have exactly two days to figure out how to ask someone I barely know if I can rifle through their family photos and documents without sounding like a complete weirdo.

Archive prep and nervous energy

Spent the better part of my afternoon organizing every archival supply I’ve accumulated over the past few months. Acid-free folders, cotton gloves, the whole nine yards. Margaret would be proud of how systematic I’ve gotten about this stuff. Jake walked through earlier and just shook his head at my coffee table command center.

Making my list of questions before I forget half of them

The thing is, I’m genuinely excited about what Carmen’s mom might have. She mentioned old community records, maybe some photos from local events that could fill in gaps in our family timeline. But there’s also this weird pressure - like I’m representing not just my own curiosity but this whole larger project of preserving stories that might otherwise get lost. No big deal at all.