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"So, the Southern California Genealogical Society&amp;#039;s Writers&amp;#039; Conference felt like coming home. Granted, it was close to my California home. It was in Burbank, I lived in Altadena, worked in Pasadena, and here I was back, with good, good friends I met in person only once before. Paula Hinkel is the genius at this genealogy jamboree, bringing together curious, bright, devoted, learned people to learn even more, and to share with each other, this most interesting trail, family history. Lou Szucs is the lovely soul representing Ancestry.com at family history conventions and conferences. If you&amp;#039;ve ever been intimidated by the process, she is your warm ticket in. I ran into a woman I used to work with at the Los Angeles Daily News, so, of course we discussed ancient newsroom gossip. She is retired and involved \u2013 a reporter \u2013 in her own story now. This is a high-energy bunch, who are always discussing and smiling. I am happy when I am teaching people a fun way to write their family histories. The sessions were recorded on high definition DVD&amp;#039;s. I was lookin&amp;#039; good and feelin &amp;#039; good, as I talked with my first two classes. I felt I was doing something I know how to do, and right there in front of me were kindred souls, happy to be in the room. And then, Class Three: WRITING THROUGH GRIEF. My friends, this is where I lost it. In front of all these people. I couldn&amp;#039;t talk. I couldn&amp;#039;t get the words out. All I could do was cry them. My mother died in February, I cried, in introduction. I still had the responsibility and true desire to tell these folks how good-for-you writing through grief is. Meanwhile, I am sobbing and blowing my nose right into my lapel mic. My lookin&amp;#039; good, feelin &amp;#039; good formula ran down my face in a mascara river. Paula threatens she will put this on YouTube. At first glance, it may not have seemed to be a valuable class. We all cried that hour as we shared our stories; sad, so sad and sadder. The students were there, after all, because they needed help in grieving, too. We may not have written it, but we highly defined it that day. D.G. Fulford is the author of Designated Daughter: The Bonus Years with Mom, written with her mother Phyllis Greene. She is also the co-founder of TheRememberingSite.org. You can find her at DGFulford.com. Photo credit: Marcia Smilack "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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