That side of my family is from Wales and Ireland mostly. Would love to visit one day. I have a friend I met in the states and knew for years here who was from Wales who was buried there.
I'm so happy for you, Maia! Slovenia looks like a beautiful place. But more than that, the way your heritage spoke to you inspired me so much. I've been to Germany, but not to Poland, where my father's family comes from. I no longer travel, so I probably never will get there. But I've gone to Europe so many times that I wish I had taken an extra week to visit Poland.
I wonder if there might be a way it’s possible for you to take your own ancestral journey to Poland in a more virtual way. I don’t know what that could mean, exactly, for you, but I do know it’s possible to travel in ways that are not always physical. So if that’s not an option for you, perhaps there is something else that would support you to reconnect to that part of your being.
What a special journey to discovery and belonging and the ties that “bind” or in some way weave us into spaces and places far from the places we now call home. I have had the experience of seeing landscape my father,who was born in 1907, saw as a young man in Yakima Washington. It’s a special feeling …And How lovely that you reconnected with Barbara and had her and your Mom whispering in your ear! I look forward to hearing more when we get a chance to sit and enjoy a pastry together!
Thank you, Maia, for sharing this heart warming journey. My maternal grandparents were 4th generation German immigrants. This ancestry was not acknowledged in my experience. Family reunions in NW PA were usually 100 strong, and still no celebration of heritage and tradition. My mother had learned a variety of ways to “put food by” from her mother. Canning, jellies and jams, pickles of many kinds, baking bread, and pies with very flaky crusts. Refined lard was the shortening. Mom insisted on not teaching we two boys the ways of the kitchen, and with no daughters her workload was staggering. Would I want to visit Germany? Perhaps, though not for a sense of shared traditions and strivings. Reading of your strong connection with Slovenia was a joy.
Hi Maia, I am so happy you got to visit your homeland, and so interesting to see how you reconnected with it, even though you had never been there before. I guess we, Westerners, need to re-integrate our ancestors as living beings and not dead people... They still speak to us. They are still alive in us... Thank you for this beautiful story.
Maia, what a gift to be able to find that "This is home" feeling. It's rare, I think, for us descendants of immigrants (everyone but indigenous people). And then for so many of us, our childhood homes don't feel like home, either, even though we spent our formative years there.
I've also put off for so many years a place that I might possibly feel that feeling: Quebec. I've also wanted to visit France, since my Quebecois ancestors would have descended from there. I've been to neither place. (This is my paternal side, where the French impression was always present; my grandparents and great grandparents spoke Canadian French. My mother was less tuned into her ancestry, which is Irish and Swedish.
Thank you for being a great writing cheerleader, Don!
I didn’t intend it this way, but now that I look back at what I wrote and read your comment, I realize there is actually a subtle theme in the essay — the construction (and tragedy) of “whiteness.”
It’s interesting that for those of us who come from immigrant families — as you note that’s everyone except for people indigenous to Turtle Island — in so many cases we don’t feel much if any connection with our ethnic roots, our ancestry further back than one or two generations. From my anthropology studies, I remember learning how our sense of ‘whiteness’ was fabricated over time as part of the colonial project. There wasn’t such a thing as “white people” until the 17th century when it became necessary to justify the wave of violence and domination that went along with conquest. There’s an interesting article that I want to link to here, but apparently now you can’t add links to comments. I’ll DM you.
But the tragedy of this is that we gradually lost our sense of an ethnic identity and tradition. This is more true the further back our ancestors came to this country. I think for those who are first or second generation immigrants, there is still some sense of “Those are my people.” It’s a good edge for those of us who are “white” to explore.
Wow, Maia that is fascinating to learn about whiteness being fabricated. I would love to read more about this subject, and will check out the link that you DMed to me. Thank you!
I love reading this peek into your journey of the heart, Maia. It's especially poignant as I work on my manuscript about generational shifts. Thank you for sharing.
It’s a journey that’s for sure, Maia. Thank you for asking. No timeline yet. I’m still in the first draft writing period, maybe halfway there. So, keeping that in mind, phew, a way to go yet.
Love how strongly you connected to your ancestral home! What a special visit. I'm so glad you listened to your aunt and mom! And resonate with the tuning out of the old stories. I wish I knew more of my German immigrant family's stories, even though they're still the ones I know more than the older colonizers in my heritage. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing your delightful homecoming to Slovenia with us, Maia! (How’s it going with the chicken paprikash? Did your cousin give you her recipe?)
My cousin did give me a recipe! I tried it a few years ago, made it on my mom's birthday in her honor, as it was one of her favorite dishes. Truth be told, it was kind of a disaster : ) It involved dumplings and my dumplings didn't make the grade. Perhaps I didn't inherit the Slovenian cooking gene, lol.
Our very dna holds ancestral connections… some lovely, some the results of ancient trauma borne by our blood relatives and by our very own blood streams. Glad the trip was joyful! May these recent uncoverings bring more insights over time.
Yes... ancestry holds so many gifts, as well as trauma and other challenges. Sometimes I remember Linda Hogan's words --
"Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands."
Interesting! I'm going to Ireland in September. I'm about 95.6% Irish, and I've never been. Family all came here early- mid-19th century, so no connections at all. My father grew up in the same house as his Irish-born grandparents, but couldn't remember if they had a brogue! Anwyway, I'm very much looking forward to landing in Dublin and traveling around to see if I have any feelings of connection.
This is beautiful.
So relatable as I did the same with my mom and my family history until I was an adult.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Interesting how our dna can pick up on our answers like that.
Thanks you for sharing your experience.
Thank you for taking the time to read it and comment, Lori! Where does your mom‘s family come from?
That side of my family is from Wales and Ireland mostly. Would love to visit one day. I have a friend I met in the states and knew for years here who was from Wales who was buried there.
Maia, I so enjoyed your reflection on homing and discovery. Many Slovenians in Pueblo due to the Steel Mill and delicious protica!
Yes! I have heard that about Pueblo! Might need to do a field trip up there and research : )
And have been thinking about you, Patricia… are you impacted by the huge fires in Colorado? I know one is near Pueblo…
I'm so happy for you, Maia! Slovenia looks like a beautiful place. But more than that, the way your heritage spoke to you inspired me so much. I've been to Germany, but not to Poland, where my father's family comes from. I no longer travel, so I probably never will get there. But I've gone to Europe so many times that I wish I had taken an extra week to visit Poland.
Thank you, Sandra — mudita, right?!
I wonder if there might be a way it’s possible for you to take your own ancestral journey to Poland in a more virtual way. I don’t know what that could mean, exactly, for you, but I do know it’s possible to travel in ways that are not always physical. So if that’s not an option for you, perhaps there is something else that would support you to reconnect to that part of your being.
What a magical adventure and beautiful gift, Maia! Your sense of “coming home” shines through so brightly ❤️
What a special journey to discovery and belonging and the ties that “bind” or in some way weave us into spaces and places far from the places we now call home. I have had the experience of seeing landscape my father,who was born in 1907, saw as a young man in Yakima Washington. It’s a special feeling …And How lovely that you reconnected with Barbara and had her and your Mom whispering in your ear! I look forward to hearing more when we get a chance to sit and enjoy a pastry together!
Thank you, Maia, for sharing this heart warming journey. My maternal grandparents were 4th generation German immigrants. This ancestry was not acknowledged in my experience. Family reunions in NW PA were usually 100 strong, and still no celebration of heritage and tradition. My mother had learned a variety of ways to “put food by” from her mother. Canning, jellies and jams, pickles of many kinds, baking bread, and pies with very flaky crusts. Refined lard was the shortening. Mom insisted on not teaching we two boys the ways of the kitchen, and with no daughters her workload was staggering. Would I want to visit Germany? Perhaps, though not for a sense of shared traditions and strivings. Reading of your strong connection with Slovenia was a joy.
I love this Maia! What a wonderful and meaningful trip. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Hi Maia, I am so happy you got to visit your homeland, and so interesting to see how you reconnected with it, even though you had never been there before. I guess we, Westerners, need to re-integrate our ancestors as living beings and not dead people... They still speak to us. They are still alive in us... Thank you for this beautiful story.
Maia, what a gift to be able to find that "This is home" feeling. It's rare, I think, for us descendants of immigrants (everyone but indigenous people). And then for so many of us, our childhood homes don't feel like home, either, even though we spent our formative years there.
I've also put off for so many years a place that I might possibly feel that feeling: Quebec. I've also wanted to visit France, since my Quebecois ancestors would have descended from there. I've been to neither place. (This is my paternal side, where the French impression was always present; my grandparents and great grandparents spoke Canadian French. My mother was less tuned into her ancestry, which is Irish and Swedish.
I enjoyed this writing, Maia!
Thank you for being a great writing cheerleader, Don!
I didn’t intend it this way, but now that I look back at what I wrote and read your comment, I realize there is actually a subtle theme in the essay — the construction (and tragedy) of “whiteness.”
It’s interesting that for those of us who come from immigrant families — as you note that’s everyone except for people indigenous to Turtle Island — in so many cases we don’t feel much if any connection with our ethnic roots, our ancestry further back than one or two generations. From my anthropology studies, I remember learning how our sense of ‘whiteness’ was fabricated over time as part of the colonial project. There wasn’t such a thing as “white people” until the 17th century when it became necessary to justify the wave of violence and domination that went along with conquest. There’s an interesting article that I want to link to here, but apparently now you can’t add links to comments. I’ll DM you.
But the tragedy of this is that we gradually lost our sense of an ethnic identity and tradition. This is more true the further back our ancestors came to this country. I think for those who are first or second generation immigrants, there is still some sense of “Those are my people.” It’s a good edge for those of us who are “white” to explore.
Wow, Maia that is fascinating to learn about whiteness being fabricated. I would love to read more about this subject, and will check out the link that you DMed to me. Thank you!
I love reading this peek into your journey of the heart, Maia. It's especially poignant as I work on my manuscript about generational shifts. Thank you for sharing.
Oooh that sounds so interesting, Paulette! Do you have a timeline when your ms/book may come out?
It’s a journey that’s for sure, Maia. Thank you for asking. No timeline yet. I’m still in the first draft writing period, maybe halfway there. So, keeping that in mind, phew, a way to go yet.
How’s your memoir process going?
My heart is so happy to know you did this. I’ve experienced some of those same feelings visited old home places around d the country and the world.
Thank you, Laura! Was there a place that especially touched your heart?
Love how strongly you connected to your ancestral home! What a special visit. I'm so glad you listened to your aunt and mom! And resonate with the tuning out of the old stories. I wish I knew more of my German immigrant family's stories, even though they're still the ones I know more than the older colonizers in my heritage. Thanks for sharing this.
Love hearing about your connection to place and people! Our bodies remember. It's all in there.
Thank you, Diana! It is indeed all there.
What an insightful way to start my inner brain! Please keep sharing heartfelt ancestral awakening. Indigene it y of belonging . Blessings to all
I will! So much more to share about it, yesterday’s post was kind of zipped out on the moon deadline : ) but more to be revealed.
Thank you for sharing your delightful homecoming to Slovenia with us, Maia! (How’s it going with the chicken paprikash? Did your cousin give you her recipe?)
My cousin did give me a recipe! I tried it a few years ago, made it on my mom's birthday in her honor, as it was one of her favorite dishes. Truth be told, it was kind of a disaster : ) It involved dumplings and my dumplings didn't make the grade. Perhaps I didn't inherit the Slovenian cooking gene, lol.
Dumplings will getcha every time!
🤣
Our very dna holds ancestral connections… some lovely, some the results of ancient trauma borne by our blood relatives and by our very own blood streams. Glad the trip was joyful! May these recent uncoverings bring more insights over time.
Yes... ancestry holds so many gifts, as well as trauma and other challenges. Sometimes I remember Linda Hogan's words --
"Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands."
I love that; thank you.
Interesting! I'm going to Ireland in September. I'm about 95.6% Irish, and I've never been. Family all came here early- mid-19th century, so no connections at all. My father grew up in the same house as his Irish-born grandparents, but couldn't remember if they had a brogue! Anwyway, I'm very much looking forward to landing in Dublin and traveling around to see if I have any feelings of connection.
Sounds like a great journey, Kevin! I look forward to hearing your experience...