enfinblue's Bluey (credit to Fifi for the nickname!) Diaryland Diary

"I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart." -Vinc3nt V@n Gogh

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Don't you just love being green?

Everybody's Irish on St. Patrick's DAY!

So true, non?

I'm afraid that when I thought about it I realized that in fact I am only discernably one-eighth Irish. A Murphy who was an Anglican and who (naturally!) therefore ended up in Canada in the 19th century. Irish have a name for those (and it's not flattering). Kind of a cool family branch though, given that that's the one with the first woman judge in the Commmonwealth who has a statue on Parliament Hill, whom I always tout (even though she was homely and racist in the way of early 20th century individuals). I'm kind of an egomaniac to not be more discerning, I think.

The rest of me is English and Scottish; from Northumberland, Wiltshire and Caithness, as far as I can discern. I would have to say likely one-half to three-quarters English, with at least one of those three quarters more likely Scot. The other one-eighth is definitely Scot (Archibald MacDiarmid was my favourite great-grandpa).

So...one-eighth Irish only! And three eighths Scot. And four eighths English!

Of course, that doesn't explain my grandmother whom I've always suspected was the product of a dalliance on the part of my English, paternal great-grandfather with a Miqmaq squaw (or even better, a dalliance by my paternal great-grandmother ;-)). But we shall never know. I do have a physical marker that usually only occurs in those with native heritage, so I suppose I could have DNA done.

I find this stuff interesting. Do you ever stop to think about what your ancestors' lives were like? I do. I think about them on the big boats crossing the ocean, down in the holds. I think about them tilling new land and facing harsh winters. They must have been tough. How soft our lives are, comparably. And yet, in spite of the challenges, I envy them the adventure, the wide-openness of the lives that they created and rearranged in the New World. Cool, non? I have been very fortunate, too, in having a mythology, at least, of strong women in my family. Whenever the stories are told the women come up as tough, determined, educated and forceful. I like that. I believe in women and in their innate power. Too bad that so few women believe in themselves. The patriarchy in society at large remains an oppressive force.

Does anyone else read Willa Cather? I just love her. She's talking about the American experience (no real difference with the prairie experience in Canada, I think). I think that My �ntoni@ is one of the most poignant depictions of pioneer life around (and particularly of the role and importance of women therein). There's this one image of a lonely grave in a snow-swept field that has stayed with me since I first read it. book

Well, back to work. Go on - be IRISH today! (I'm off to buy myself some Guinness.)

11:40 a.m. - 2009-03-17

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other diaries:

stepfordtart
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awittykitty
annanotbob
manfromvenus
smartypants
fifidellabon
hungryghost
hissandtell