Saturday, August 4, 2007

Where are you from?

Over wine last night we talked about "home" and where we are from. For Alison and I, it's obvious. We were born and raised in the same state and the same towns for a large portion of our lives. In my case, my parents were from the same state and had their own history there and in the various towns where they had lived. Our husbands are the same except their towns were on the other side of the pond.

The real problem comes when I try to answer the question for my children. They are multi-national and multi-cultural. One was born in England but has lived in France most of his life. The other two were born here and know nothing else. Are they French? No, not at all. But yet, they are.

How will they change and grow because of this background, this melange in their lives? Who will they think they are? What connections will they have with the places their parents know as "home?" Will they find themselves yearning to know their roots or will they just be happy blooming where we've planted them?

What will they feel an attachment to? Will it be the "La Marseillaise," "The Star Spangled Banner," or "God Save The Queen?" Perhaps they will have to make their own anthem in the years to come.

"Where are you from?" Here, there, and everywhere.

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