In the event of an emergency, I would take these three items with me:a Hot Wheels car, a cross stitched bird picture that I made, and a book called The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood.
I would choose to take a Hot Wheels car with me because drag racing is something that has been apart of my family culture since I was a little girl. We did not take vacations when I was younger; we went racing for long weekends. I have my extended family at the race track. Not only do I love racing now, but my children also love racing and my son is obsessed with cars. The racecar toy would be a consistent reminder of the love that I have for racing.
The cross stitched picture of a bird would be a choice for me because it is something that I made myself. I enjoy cross stitching. I currently have this picture hanging in my bathroom and when I look at it, it reminds me of my grandmother. Growing up, Grandma had finches as pets. We would visit her once a month. The first month, she would only have two birds. The next month, there would be 10 birds because they had laid eggs. The following month, there would be only two birds again and when we asked her about where they had gone, she would say that she let them go so they could be free.
Birds have always been special to my mother, sister, and me. On the day that Grandma died, several hundred birds followed my mother home to her house from Grandma's house, about a 20 minute drive. They landed in my parent's yard and just sat there all day long. From that moment, 12 years ago, birds have meant more to us than they did growing up. Grandma always said that she wanted to be free like a bird. The bird picture that I cross stitched has dual meaning and makes me smile when I see it.
Finally, I would take this fun children's book with me because it is one of our family's favorites. My kids love this book! We take turns acting out the way that the mouse reacts in the story. When I read it to children at my school, it makes me smile because I can see my own children being silly and laughing as we turn the pages.
If I could only choose one item, it would be the Hot Wheels car. I would be sad to not have the others with me. But racing has made me who I am today. I have a racing family that are not just close friends anymore. Racing is a lifestyle choice.
I really took a look at who I am as a person and the culture of my family while writing this week's blog. I will admit, it took me a while to think of three items that would represent my family. I actually had to talk it out with my best friend because I struggled with choosing just three items. It was eye opening for me because I do have a culture for my children. I haven't ever thought of it as culture, but I do. We race. We love birds. We have true love for one other. And each of those items is something that shapes who we are.
Hello Leanne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your family culture and what you hold valuable. You have a special relationship with your grandmother that you obviously cherish. My family culture also includes my grandmother as a central figure while growing up. I also learned how to cook and bake from watching my grandmother in her kitchen. Also, it is great you have created special memories with your children in having a favorite book, and acting it out. I agree, the memories we have are so strong and help us in times of distress and challenge.
Hello Leanne,
ReplyDeleteIt is always a good feeling when the family share an interest together. The spirit of culture it is of no consequence that the attachments and the meaning that we give the experiences, which enrich, or not the dynamics of our own family cuture.
Leanne, how precious thing must be for you having such a hard time selecting. I also had a very hard time narrowing down to three and then discarding one. The items you picked each have individual special meaning.The book, race cars and cross-stitching of the birds carry all the memories and connect you to your family members in special ways. Cynthia
ReplyDeleteHi Leanne, thank you so much for sharing your three precious family items. It was great getting a glimpse into your family culture. That is a beautiful finch cross stitch and has such a beautiful meaning behind it. Thank you so much for sharing that heartwarming story about your grandma. I also adore the book you chose at the end. When I began teaching at the school I am currently working at that was one of the first books my student's picked for me to read with them. I read it almost every day for months and to this day I can recite it verbatim without even having the book in front of me. This came in handy when we were having our classes over zoom I would do storytime of that book and reenact what was occurring in the story.
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