Following a catastrophe in The United States, I am told that my family will be relocated in another country. In addition to a change of clothes, I am allowed to bring 3 personal items with me. I have chosen to bring 3 items that represent my family culture. They are a photo album, The Holy Bible, and my family recipe book.
The reason in choosing a photo album would be due to memories and events holding so much value in our lives. We have had many special events as a family such as our wedding day, the birth of our children, our weekly trips to the lake, and our vacations to Florida or Gatlinburg. Our photo albums are also full of all of the important people in our lives. With my girls being so young, I would not want them to forget about all of the important people who have impacted our lives. Having images of these events and people give our daughters a picture to put with the story.
The reason I would bring The Holy Bible is because I was raised in a Christian household, and am also raising my children in a Christian household. Having this bible allows gives us a guide to stories that represent moral and values that we have built our family on. I feel this is currently important to share with my children, and would continue to be important as they learn and grow, no matter what country we are in.
My final item is my family recipe book. At my bridal shower, my grandmother presented me with a cookbook that contained all her favorite family recipes. Some of them were passed down from her mother and grandmother, and others were obtained over the years. These were all recipes that she made for my mother, my mother made for me, and I make for my children. Over the last 10 years, I have added additional recipes to this book and plan on passing it on to my oldest daughter when she gets married someday. This book not only represents our cultural food, but is a book that binds generations of women in my family.
If I arrived in the country and was told to dispose of two of these items and only keep one, I would have to choose to keep the photo album. Family is the most important aspect of my life! Having these images to help with memories of events and family members would mean the most to me, as well as my children.
When I first started exploring the personal cultural items that would be options for me, I have to admit my list was short. As discussed in this week’s video and in this week’s text, we often have a hard time recognizing our own culture because it is our normal. I was struggling with this as well. After discussions with my husband and my mother, I was able to get a better idea of items that were truly important to me!
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeletethat's neat that you have a family recipe book that has been in your family for generations.
I think it's great that you've added to it and will pass it along to your children
some day. It's a great idea too if you ever had to go to a new place because you
could always make the foods you love and it would bring back family memories.Hi Kristen,
that's neat that you have a family recipe book that has been in your family for generations. I think it's great that you've added to it and will pass it along to your children some day. It's a great idea too if you ever had to go to a new place because you could always make the foods you love and it would bring back family memories.
Sorry that was posted twice.
ReplyDeleteWe chose similar items. I have a cook book that I have started for my kids of 'low sugar, gluten-free' foods. I like to alter my grandma's recipes to fit our needs. Great post! -Sarah Holtz
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your choices. I also choose a photo album. I chose my wedding album. I love the idea of taking a cook book. It did not even cross my mind but that is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteWe had one similar item (the Bible), and one of your items (the photo album)I wrestled with whether to include it or not. I only didn't because I have so many of them, and none of them are small. :) I had the same problem with coming up with 3 items because I have never had to explore my family culture and the objects that represent it. Thanks for your post!
Kristen
ReplyDeleteI too liked your idea of a family recipe book. My mother in law gave me a few recipes that my husband enjoyed when he was younger. Unfortunately I am not a cook but I think this could be something that I could add to our family tree book. I also think that I am going to ask for recipes at our next family reunion that could be added to this book. Thank you.
Rachael
I had a hard time thinking of what means the most to me about my family culture. I ended with a photo book as well. I figure it holds memory of everything that was important to me in my family which are my family and friends.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing i realyy enjoyed your post.
Kristen, I also had a hard time choosing the three items that I would bring. I should of talked to my family to see what they would of suggested. I think a photo album is a great way to hold onto everything that you love and cherish. Such great memories are usually kept in those albums and are a great way to help children remember!
ReplyDeleteThe items you chose to bring were very similar to the ones I chose. It was really hard to narrow it down to three items. Family recipe's would have been a great item to bring as well. That way you could pass down the type of food that represents your culture to your children, as well as share it with the local people that you are now living with. Great Post.
ReplyDelete