i am not great with words. so bear with me.
this isn't about america the country and being patriotic. or being free, or the like. i'm glad i'm american for obvious reasons. this is sort of a philisophical post. recently hubs and i watched a movie called "the namesake". it's about an indian family, essentially. while watching the movie, i was enthralled and a bit envious of their traditions, etc. also somewhat recently, i made a friend who is from india. i love to hear her talk about her family, her country. and the seamless way she speaks indian and english at the same time to her son.
i could tell you that i'm german, norwegian, whatever. most people can tell you which country they are "from" or have ancestors from, but there it usually stops. i feel like as americans, we really don't have a solid "culture" to identify with. we're a product of many cultures. a melting pot of everywhere that continually evolves. anything goes. while this is great in most respects, it just leaves me wondering. and a little wistful.
i'd love to hear your thoughts. in whatever form they come.
we had a photoshoot, my friend and her son. gorgeous. they just came home from a month in india and this little guy's grandpa taught him to do a yoga stance :) i would have liked to taken those outside but the BUGS are BAD!
other tfters for today: jenny, kristi and michelle.
Well, I think as far as culture goes as an American, I'm ok with the lack thereof. I love the melting pot I come from. I can't dwell on something I will never have, I just need to focus on my values and what I want to teach my kids as an american. Good topic, very deep! Great pics too, what a little cutie!
Posted by: Michelle | June 05, 2008 at 08:44 PM
I think culture is what you make of it. The melting pot that we are has created its own culture in a way. Look how different thing are done/said just by what part of the country you are in. I do wish I had some Old World culture or traditions. I wish J would embrace his native american bits more, but he doesn't.
The photos are awesome. He is a doll.
Posted by: Robyn | June 05, 2008 at 08:51 PM
If I knew what my varied ancestral cultures were, I might miss them. I don't know what they were, so I'm okay with the American "culture" I've got. I'm trying to create "tradition" for my kids in place of the lost culture.
Posted by: Hyphen Mama | June 05, 2008 at 09:28 PM
What beautiful photos & what a handsome little man! He is very fortunate to grow up knowing so much about his heritage & the cultural backgrounds.
I myself am a Heinz 57 kind of girl. My Mother & I were just having this discussion the other evening. I claim to be 1/2 German & 1/2 Irish because of my temper & she informed me that I am mostly German, Scottish French & probably less Irish than I am aware of-I told her she is dashing my excuse for my snap temper!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Posted by: Lina | June 06, 2008 at 03:51 AM
Great photos!
I, too, envy those with close families, generations back. It seems that we as Americans are too much about ourselves to think further than our own generation. It's a shame.
Posted by: Karen | June 06, 2008 at 09:46 PM
what a beautiful boy! i too always envy those families who have cultural ties. my family is primarily irish...but no one seems to care!
Posted by: zoe | June 13, 2008 at 08:21 PM