Family Heritage

Tonight, after AI was finished, of course, (can you believe that Sanjaya is still hanging around?) H and I were sitting flipping through a catalog from Catholic Relief Services. The catalog is called Work of Human Hands and highlights many beautiful items with a direct connection to the farmers and artisans who produce them. We were able to search their US coffee map to find a store that promotes Fair Trade and found this great Ethiopian coffee from the Oromia region---motherland to H and Baby T's birth mom.
Many other countries are highlighted in their products as well. For example, they sell silk scarves from India and Bangladesh, baskets from the Phillipines and Uganda, pottery from Vietnam, wood carvings from Kenya, coffee, music and more--just to name a few! It started an interesting conversation about how increasingly multicultural our community and even our family has become. When I saw the items from India, I pointed them out to H and said, "See these things, they were made where Fr. Ery (her favorite priest at our church) comes from." She smiled and nodded. Then, seeing a beautiful wooden cross from Mexico, I pointed to it and said, "Remember, Uncle Chickendance's wife, Aunt G's family comes from Mexico." She nodded again. "Aren't we lucky to have so many people in our family from so many different countries?" I asked, "Ethiopia, Mexico, India, so many places!" Then I had the brilliant idea (with Saint Patrick's Day just around the corner) of pointing out my Irish heritage (as if the red hair and freckles hadn't tipped anyone off)! So I asked, "Do you know where my family comes from?" And without missing a beat, H turned to me and said, "Yes, I know! New Hampshire!"