Is Your Culture Part of Your Everyday Life?

my St. Patrick's Day quilt

Another challenging writing prompt from BlogHer today came in the form of the question "How much does your culture come into play in your day-to-day life?" Since I am a fourth-generation American, I would have to truthfully answer that it does not play a large role in my life. I don't cook the recipes of my mom and dad, we never celebrated any holidays that were not also celebrated by most Americans, none of us spoke a different language, and we did not belong to any cultural institutions.

I guess I most strongly identified with the Irish in my family tree though. My great-grandfather Michael J. Crusham came over to the United States from Ireland by himself when he was in his early 20s. I understand that he was quite the dancer and won many trophies for his Irish Jig. How I would have loved to have met him! Sometimes I can still get my aunts to sing a few of the Irish songs they learned when they were little, and it is such a treat.

I like to think that the work ethic of my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents has been passed along to me and my children. My husband and I both studied hard and sacrificed to attend graduate school, and then worked for a long time for companies that allowed us to absorb the essence of what it takes to be successful in business. This enabled us to become entreprenuers and have some control over our own destinies.

I'll close with one of my favorite Irish blessings.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand.