My great-grandmother, Albertine, emigrated from Norway to the United States sometime in the first few decades of the 1900’s. In the Norwegian part of New York, she met Nils Svendsen, my great-grandfather, and they were married. They had two young sons when Nils died. Albertine worked as a seamstress to support her family and would give my grandfather things to stitch to keep him busy while she worked. At least one piece of his embroidery still exists in the family, and I plan to steal it from my sister if possible.
I’m pretty positive that my great-grandmother was not proud of me today. Based on my grandpa’s personality (Whadda ya mean you want my corned beef recipe? Do you have the Betty Crocker cookbook? Just look in the damn cookbook!) I’m imagining she was thinking this:
You think I left my country for a better life so my great-granddaughter could try to keep two little boys occupied with a needle and thread while she sews?! Jesus Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment