72 Years From Now

Over the weekend I spent time looking at the census of 1940.  I found my mother's name and all the relatives who lived in the big rambling house she called home.  I saw the neighbors she played with, found her best friend, found the boy she used to hang out with when she was just a child.  For some reason it made me feel so close to her.  She passed back in 1999, but in 1940 she was a fresh faced child, her whole life a head of her.  

My husband passed in 2010, shortly before the deadline for the census.  It was strange.  I knew he wouldn't make it, but I'd hoped he would live long enough for the census form to be mailed back.  He made it.  I literally mailed it back the day before he passed.
The census information is made available every ten years.  This means that until 2012 you couldn't see the census from 1940.  In 2022 you'll be able to see the one from 1950.  In 2032 you'll be able to view the one from 1960.  And years from now my husband's great grandchildren will be able to view the one from 2010 and see where we lived and what he did for a living, and see the name of his wife.  Strangely this gives me a sense of peace.