"Hey, Mommy! Guess what? Tomorrow is the International Day festival at school, and we're performing a song."
"Great Hayden. What time?"
"I don't know. Let me dig out this flyer that has been getting smashed in my bookbag for the last week and a half and I'll tell you... Oh, and by the way, I have to have a costume that shows my family's heritage or I can't perform with the group."
"Hold on! What was that last part?!?"
"We all have to wear costumes that show the place where our family is from."
"I don't think we have anything like that, Hayden."
"Then we have to make one. YOU CAN SEW!"
"Let's see, Hayden. You're part German, so I could just whip up some lederhosen, and I'm sure we have a beer stein laying around somewhere. OR we could go the more modern route, since my great grandfather came to America to escape the Third Reich and just stick a swastika on your arm... Though I'm pretty sure THAT wouldn't be well recieved...
"You are also part Swedish, so we could dress you in a bikini and say you are from the Swedish bikini team."
"Moooo-oooom!!!"
"Or how 'bout this, Hayden? Since Daddy just found out he's 1/16 Native American, we could dress you up in a stereotypical feather headdress and offend all the rabid P.C. Southern Californians that banned the celebration of Thanksgiving at public schools for such garb last year."
"Whatever."
"Great Hayden. What time?"
"I don't know. Let me dig out this flyer that has been getting smashed in my bookbag for the last week and a half and I'll tell you... Oh, and by the way, I have to have a costume that shows my family's heritage or I can't perform with the group."
"Hold on! What was that last part?!?"
"We all have to wear costumes that show the place where our family is from."
"I don't think we have anything like that, Hayden."
"Then we have to make one. YOU CAN SEW!"
"Let's see, Hayden. You're part German, so I could just whip up some lederhosen, and I'm sure we have a beer stein laying around somewhere. OR we could go the more modern route, since my great grandfather came to America to escape the Third Reich and just stick a swastika on your arm... Though I'm pretty sure THAT wouldn't be well recieved...
"You are also part Swedish, so we could dress you in a bikini and say you are from the Swedish bikini team."
"Moooo-oooom!!!"
"Or how 'bout this, Hayden? Since Daddy just found out he's 1/16 Native American, we could dress you up in a stereotypical feather headdress and offend all the rabid P.C. Southern Californians that banned the celebration of Thanksgiving at public schools for such garb last year."
"Whatever."
~~~~~
Given the options, we thought the bloodthirsty Vikings were representative enough of our culture and heritage. What is a child of Northern European ancestry to do?
37 different countries were represented. Though I became a little nervous when they started passing the microphone around to have the kids say something in their country's native tongue. The only thing Hayden knows in Swedish is "ludefisk."
Much tastier that ludefisk: Hayden shows his best Viking manners as he plows through one of the treats from the Mexican food stand.
Nathan needed to jump into the act.
~~~~~
Tickets to buy tasty international cuisine in support of the local PTA: $20
Duct Tape/ Milk Carton/ Shopping Bag Viking Costume: $2.5o
Reconnecting with your savage roots: Priceless
8 comments:
My husband has a lot of Viking ancestry. I should make him a hat like that! He'd love it. Although, he's studied a great deal about the Vikings and he would inform me that they didn't actually wear the helmets with the horns. Isn't he rude! He's scorning my hat-gift that I haven't even made him yet! Oh, wait. HE's only scorning me in my mind. Maybe I should go to bed....
And the Kenmore!! Isn't that the best deal ever!!! I'm so excited.
And, one more thing, I have been reading your posts in Reader and just now visited so I could comment on your awesome post and I just have to say that you have really wicked-cool taste in blog backgrounds. I SO almost chose this very same "riverish something something" background! (I can almost remember the name of the background... something to do with a river, right?)
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that you're cool! (pretty sure you already knew that, but reinforcement never hurts!)
Oh, I guess I have something else to say. I loved how you said, "I don't know. Let me dig out this flyer that has been getting smashed in my bookbag for the last week and a half and I'll tell you..." How do kids do that?! I need to have a daily backpack inspection. I'm always finding out about things at the last minute because of this paper-squished-in-backpack-for-a-week scenario! For the love of cheese whiz! Give me the papers, kids!!!
OK. I think I'm done now. Apparently I've missed commenting on your blog! I just had a lot to say tonight.
Cheers!
Oh my goodness. I am laughing so hard right now; I think I might wake up one of the kids. I love that you found out about this International Day the day before, and I love that you whipped out this hat in no time. So impressive! Great posts, as always!! Thanks for the laughs.
HI-LARIOUS!
LOL! Shana, you. are. awesome.
probably the most useful application of duct tape that I have seen in a really, really long time...I appreciate that you mentioned that the flier had been squished in the backpack for a week...I don't know how many times I have had parents complain to ME that that they didn't know about something just to have me say, "Well, I sent the flier home a week ago...ask YOUR KID!"
Shauna, your prose had me in stiches to the very end. Funny stuff!
You totally should have gone with the Native American outfit. The resulting riots would have really given you something to blog about.
AWESOME! LOL
Shana, the last picture startled me! I had to look three times to make sure it wasn't your mother! in years gone by, of course. I've never seen you look so much like her before. Its the angle of your face and mouth. It IS you, isn't it?
Very clever post. As for the note in the backpack, its a genetic inheritance from his father. He was the MASTER of lost-notes-in- the-backpack syndrome.
Post a Comment