Thoughts on La Día

We've been up to some belated Días de los Muertos activities the last couple of days: Q-tip skeletons (google it for several links), tissue paper flowers, reading up about these incredibly beautiful traditions online, reading Frida again, looking back through pictures from our trip to Mexico from this time last year, and setting up a mini-altar with a souvenir I brought home from that trip and the poppy that E was given today by a woman at a veteran's table set up at the grocery store today.  (C told me that R refused to take a poppy, skeptical of what she was saying about supporting the war in Iraq.  He's had strong and vocal opinions about this from an early age, frequently asking us questions, difficult to answer, about it even when he was 3 and still now at age 6.  Although we have our own biases, we try to give him fair answers, showing him ways to look at it from many sides, and ultimately supporting him in his feelings about this.)

It's been a strange mix of a day, doing these crafts, cleaning and cooking in preparation for the baby shower for my SIL and her husband this afternoon, all the while answering one phone call after another urging us to vote on Tuesday.  My mom, who has been a citizen of this country for maybe only the last 8-10 years and thus now takes her right to vote very seriously, even called me yesterday solely and specifically to remind us to vote, particularly for the state senatorial race.   

Baby showers and Días de los Muertos don't seem to jive together but, on the other hand, I found that they do in some small ways.  We talked about bones and bodies and pelvises and giving birth while making our q-tip skeletons and about the images and symolism in Mexican art and about Frida.  She couldn't have children but she was a strong woman who endured great pain every day of her life and yet lived and expressed herself creatively throughout. 

My sister in law is due soon and they are expecting their second child so they don't really need much in the way of baby things, especially if this baby is another son.  Instead, we gathered and showered them with books as they're getting tired of reading the same ones over and over again. It was nice to get together for something so positive, with anticipation and excitement.

Gathering together in wait for this new life to come into this world doesn't seem all that far from gathering together to remember family who have come before us.  Since the birth of our own children, birthdays always makes me think of the mothers, maybe even more than of the person whose birthday it is.  Several years ago, at a gathering of women, we tried to see how far back each of us knew the first names of our mother, our mother's mother, and so on, saying something to the effect of "I, ___, daughter of___, daughter of ___, daughter of...."   I was surprised to realize that I only knew my maternal grandmother's name and nothing beyond that.  After asking my mom, I now know one more generation before that.  There are family records that would take me further back than that although I haven't looked into it.   How far back can you go?

I was surprised by and have been enjoying the responses to the last post (and all the others, of course).  As usual, I wish there was more time to respond and always feel sorry about not doing so.  If I did, then there wouldn't be many moments left in my day to knit, learn, cook, read, talk, blog, eat, think, clean, sleep, live, breathe, etc......

Comments

[Eva]

Hey first again :)
Well, I only know my grandmothers' names. One is Annie (I don't know if that is her given name or what she was called) and the other one is Louisa Ludovica called Weeza. I know both their mothers died when they were very young. Annie's mom died giving birth to her and Weeza's mom died 6 weeks after giving birth to her to tuberculosis or something horrible like that.
Cheers Eva

[Pat]

How fun! I, Pat, daughter of Mary Ellen Phillips, daughter of Leota Pearl Atkinson, daughter of Mary Amanda Sexton, daughter of Emmazetta Walker, daughter of Rebecca Redgers. Thank you for making me stop and remember and realize that I'm from a long line of strong, independent women (not too sure if that holds true for Rebecca).

[Pat]

P.S. By the way, my mother was born and raised in Montana, my grandmother lived there most of her life (the school marm married the rancher), and most of my maternal relatives still live there. I love Montana!

[kmkat]

Hello from Kathryn, daughter of Marjory, daughter of Margit who came from Norway and whose mother's name is lost in the mists of time and distance. And that was just my birth mother's side. On the adopted side I am Kathryn, daughter of Madalyn, daughter of Essie (I don't know her full name - Esther, maybe?), daughter of Anna (who always reminded me very, very strongly of the Wicked Witch of the West, no doubt accounting for my strong attachment/aversion reaction to anything to do with the Oz movie).

What a fun idea!

[Suzanne]

I, Suzanne, daughter of Jane, daughter of Eleanor need to go call Jane to find out more names! The ironic thing is, I used to know several generations back. I would ask my grandparents all the time, but they have been gone for 6 and 9 years and it is no longer in the forefront of my memory. Thanks for making me remember!
PS I love Frida! How wonderful that you are commemorating her with your boys!

[Laura]

I'm Laura, daughter of Bonnie, daughter of Sibyl, daughter of Sibyl... but I can't go back further than that without looking, and I don't know my dad's side really at all. I wonder if that is because I remember the women I knew but not the ones I never met.

[Heather]

I, Heather, sister of Tracy, daughter of Patricia, daughter of Jennie, daughter of Melenia, daughter of Helena, daughter of Irene, who's mother's name is lost somewhere in Poland or the Ukraine.

This was an absolutely lovely post. I love it so much. I've been following your blog for a little while now, drawn in by your beautiful pictures, and your great stories. Posts like this have made you a favourite read of mine. So, thank you for sharing this with us. You make us think, reflect and share our own stories. :)

[chelee]

Love the day of the dead stuff. We didn't celebrate it much this year because I came into the holiday unprepared...

I'm so proud of your little guy standing by his convictions. That is very admirable for anyone of any age and especially so of someone so young. What a proud mama you must be.

I too believe that birth and death are just opposite sides of a coin (I'm not trying to put words where they aren't but this is what I got from your post). I loved your thoughts and what a great idea, a book shower.

Siri, you rock!

[kaarin]

I echo Heather's thoughts on what a wonderful place your blog is to go to. It is like a little haven I go to especially after a difficult day when I just want to retreat. Thank you!

[Amy Lu]

I am Amy, daughter of Judith, daughter of Alma, daughter of Clara, daughter of Mildred....

Have you ever seen the Mothers' tree? It's an attractive cross stitch dedicated to perserving the Maternal lineage. I am hoping to have mine done before mother's day next year!

http://www.needleartsgallery.com/catalog/mother_s_tree_2206136.htm

[Elizabeth]

I am Elizabeth, daughter of Grace, daughter of Charlotte Laureen, daughter of Elizabeth. I wish I could go back further, I have tried but keep hitting dead ends. Geneology can be fun but frustrating. The maternal side can be especially hard as most older census records are Head of Household lists only, and for some strange reason it was thought that this was the man!
I once did a wrote a family tree in calligraphy for a woman's baby shower gift, hers dated back to the 1400's!

[suse]

I Susan, daughter of Jean, daughter of Florence ...

I must ring my mum now and get further back. Thank you Siri, for some beautiful posts lately (always really!). I've just printed out the rolls recipe from below - it looks very similar to the recipe we used to make with the children at our playgroup - a Waldorf playgroup, so probably is the same.

I printed out TF's pumpkin pattern recently too after seeing it on Echoes of a Dream, which I too adore. In fact Simmy and you both live my dream lives.

Ah, the joys of living vicariously through others ...