Food is always an important part of any culture and although I may not be able to get the same ingredients in another country, I could still try to duplicate our meals we shared at home. My children and the events we shared with them are a huge part of who we are as a family. When the children were growing up, we went on two to three trips a year to the beaches of Florida. For the past 16 years, we have spent Thanksgiving in the mountains of Arkansas. These are treasured memories that have played a huge role in who we have all become. A rosary would always be a reminder and symbol of our faith. A true foundational symbol of our family.
I would be devastated if I was not allowed to keep all three items. After giving this situation some thought, I realized that I could give up the recipe box because I could still cook many dishes from memory. The rosary is simply a symbol and all of my family can pray the rosary whether we have the tangible item or not. I would probably keep the small box of pictures. I feel like reliving these moments would sustain us through the difficult times reminding us that we have each other.
This assignment made me think harder than some others. I even got my adult children involved in this assignment. My second son thought of the recipes. (he would be one to think of food). I thought about the pictures immediately and my youngest (daughter) thought of the rosary. It warmed my heart to think that they could think of things that defined us as a family as well as our family culture. I learned how important our family culture is to my children and I felt proud that they could easily define the important items in that culture. As early childhood educators, we need to respect and appreciate how important some of these cultures are to the children we teach.
MaryJo, it really makes you stop and think when faced with the fact that this could actually happen and we would have to make this decision. It is so important to hold on one's heritage and the fact that you had your children to assist you in determining what to take was great since it would involve them to. Enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary Jo
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a hard assignment as well. I asked for some ideas from my husband just to see what he could come up with. We were pretty much on the same page as well. I think that if this was an actual situation it would be difficult to part with everything that you know. The change in environment and the loss of family members would be very challenging to manage. I think that it would help to have some visuals to remind us of where we came from and of others.
JoEllen Vining-Dawson