California Dreamin 7

What is it about our heritage, that is so important to defining who we are, in ways that are so innate that we cannot even pinpoint specifics until we go to the country where our ancestors came from, and feel a sense of "coming home" that is so strong, and yet so nebulous? My dad's side of our family came from Northern Ireland. The men were all finish carpenters/ cabinet makers. My great great grandfather worked in all of the old manor houses of England. My great grandfather worked in the shipyards of Belfast, and we learned a few years ago, that he did the internal woodwork on the Titanic. My grandfather and his brothers also worked in the shipyards of Belfast. My grandfather was the first of his family to immigrate to the US, through Ellis Island. He eventually began working for an interior designer in the Los Angeles area, and made custom furniture for many of the prominant movie stars. My parents' whole house is filled with his furniture, which will eventually be mine to pass on down to my son and his family. All cherished possessions.

But I am also a Scotch Irish Presbyterian. And I never quite understood quite how imbedded that is until my parents took my son and I to Northern Ireland this last summer. Just spending time with my cousins, driving around the countryside, driving by the home where my grandmother was born, and see it still standing, painted in yellow just like their home in LA that I remember; it made me have this strong sense of "being home" in ways that are hard to articulate, but it was there. Also, driving around Northern Ireland with Presbyterian Churches in every small town, and yet these are Presbyterian Churches who will not ordain women., reminding me that this is where I am from, but not sure whether I could live there;the romanticized dreams would cause a rude awakening, when I would be confronted of the the Reading the history of Northern Ireland, and learning of all of the Scotch Irish Presbyterians who were part of the formation of the United States.

So this year, for Christmas, as I thought of what to give my parents, especially my dad, I felt like it needed to be something of meaning, and definitely more than just a shirt, or sweater, or tie! So, a placque is being made with my grandfather's name and Northern Ireland on it, to be placed on the Memorial Wall at Ellis Island. A certificate with his name, place of origin, name of ship and date of arrival will be placed in our home, somewhere near the furniture grandpa made, and in this home where the past is meeting the future, carrying with us the parts of our history, our story, with a few steps farther into the future. . .