Check out my progress on Family History
As I’ve mentioned many times before, one of the things I love the most about being home is gathering for family meals. When I was growing up, my parents always insisted that the family eat dinner together, and that tradition continues today whenever possible.
So when my dad sent me this article about family dinners, my curiosity was piqued. As the author explains, family gatherings are opportunities for sharing family history, and she offers a list of questions to test your knowledge.
Here’s the list with my answers:
Do you know how your grandparents met? My grandparents met at Penn State University, when my granddaddy stopped by to get the answers to a test! Ha!
Do you know what countries your ancestors are from? The Yoders are of Swiss origin, but my mom’s side is mostly Irish.
Do you know how your ancestors first arrived in the United States? Not a clue.
Do you know what your mom and dad’s first jobs were? My mom had the most interesting first jobs. She once worked at the ice cream counter at Howard Johnson, then moved on to Marshall Field’s where she worked in the lingerie department. Both yielded some pretty hilarious stories! I’m not so sure about my dad, although I’m pretty certain that he spent a lot of time working as a bank teller before graduating law school.
Do you know the names of their pets growing up? There were many pets in their family histories (perhaps that’s part of the reason why we have sevendogs now?!). Boomer and Chumley were the favorites.
Do you know what was going on in the world when you were born? 1987. Uh, lots of bad hair and Fraggle Rock?
Can you draw a family tree? I probably couldn’t go much beyond the great-grandparents…so maybe I could draw a family “shrub.”
Now it’s your turn! How well do you know your family’s history? Answer any or all of the above questions!
Here’s how the day’s menu panned out.
With no class or exams to worry about, I seized the opportunity to have a leisurely breakfast. Protein waffles, anyone?
I spent much of the afternoon browsing through books at the library. Hunger eventually got the best of me though, so I made my final selections and came home to make a Goddess Garbanzo Salad.
Tonight, I made a big bowl of Tortilla Soup, topped with a gob of delicious guacamole.
Alright, if you’ll excuse me, Margot and I have some very important reading to attend to!
Good night, and happy weekend to all!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
I could probably answer some of those family questions, like when my ancestors came to Canada, what countries they are from, but not how my grandparents met. We actually have some family trees done up for my mom’s side of the family, but not really for my dad’s side of the family. I’m sure I could come up with a bit of a shrub for that one though
I’ve got that book too – came in the mail yesterday!
This post was so much fun! On my dad’s side, there was a very famous historian. So, he did a family tree of the Frota family, and our ancestors are from Portugal. The tree is really long. My maternal grandfather was of Hispanic origin, but I have no idea of when his ancestors arrived in Brazil.
Have a great weekend.
Haha I loved this post! the pic of your gparents is great! their so cute. I did a family tree once in grade school. But my great aunt did one also.
Fun! I love family history- we’re really big on it in my extended family… my dad is the one who maintains a big book of births, deaths, and marriages that goes all the way back to the 1600s. I know that some of my family came over from Germany to NY in the 1850s and has been in NYC ever since, while another branch came over on the Mayflower. Sooo yea I am super WASPY. German, English, a little bit of French somewhere in there too.
I loved this posting, esp the pic of G-mother and G-daddy in roaring 20′s attire! Nice to know some of those stories were absorbed (well of course they were, you were always a sponge for info). Of all of the things I did as a parent, I think prioritizing a daily meal together was the best. It forced us to forge a closeness in our lives and even provided a little nourishment (particularly important in the teenage years when junk food is the norm). It was very hard for me to let you make your own meals when you were struggling with anorexia (maybe a battle for control??), but the experts were right and you have now turned your obsession with food into a positive. Thank the Lord! Meals are so important in our culture for both nourishment but also socialization. I encourage your readers to make a family meal a frequent occurrence. PS Can’t wait to see you!
I know this is going to sound really sad but I really dont know my distant family. My parents moved to the states 28 yrs ago. I know that my family comes from England but I do not know much about my ancestors!
When I was growing up dinner was always a family affair and we sat down @ 7/7:30pm every night without question.
I can answer all of these questions!! They are so fun!! I want to actually answer them on my blog! So stay tuned : ) Thanks for the fun questions!