My history means a lot to me. Unlike many people who have a background related to their race or country of origin, and therefore a plethora of cultural traditions and definable ancestors they can trace back and celebrate, my family has so many disappearing ties and broken legacies that what I have is dear to me.
I know some of my family is German, from my mothers maiden name, Snyder, as well as some Irish from the the family member, surname Reid, whom we've traced from County Clair Ireland on her side , and the bit of Mexican we have which is Martinez. On my father's side we have the surnames Couch and Allen, and photos of a great great grandmother who was undoubtedly full Native American.
When I lived in Sicily I was asked what nationality my family was. (American doesn't count to them, they know we are mostly immigrants unless we are Native American.) When I told them I didn't have a definite background, just "a little of this, and little of that" they were all horrified.
I do have stories from both sides of my family, my great grandmother came to the southwest in a covered wagon, and taught in a one room school house when she was young. My father has stories of our family during the civil war. It's all bits and pieces, but I collect them like tiny souvenirs to keep close. Proof of who I am and where I came from.
When I was a young girl in Albuquerque I was friends with a boy named Donny, the son of Lois Duncan who later wrote "I Know What You Did Last Summer". I thought she was the most amazing person I had ever met, and I still find myself sometimes looking back at her in the throes of hero-worship. The one major thing that stuck out for me was that she told me once that every year she had her children make a recording on a cassette talking about who they were and what they wanted to be when they grew up. (This is paraphrasing, it's been a long time since she told me this story.) She planned on giving them the tapes when they grew up so they could see who they'd been as kids, and how they'd changed. I thought that was the most amazing idea ever. A voice- time capsule. Brilliant. I wish I had something like that for myself. I wish I'd made something like that for my children.
Who you are has a great deal of where you came from, and who you've been.
The same can be said for any place. If New Mexico was a person, like me she would have a vast family tree with a ton of family names, cultural influences, great stories and dusty skeletons in the closet. Who we are as a state today is much of who we've been in the past. We are a large, unconventional family with a fantastic history to celebrate. This New Year is more than just a new beginning, it's our 96th birthday in just a few more days. We're growing up and growing older.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the older I get, the more I want to celebrate my past. Whether it is my personal past or the past around me in the place I live. Might be a good time to do some research. ;)
