Family Values
I had to write this for my Deaf Cultures class about my family culture...
My family is an interesting one. We’re all nuts. But we care for each other and try to live good lives, so I guess that’s all that matters. Our customs and beliefs are a hodge-podge. They come from both sides of my family, and the ones we have made for ourselves.
Our focus is probably more on my dad’s side of the family. We’re very proud of our Irish heritage. It dictates much of our lives and traditions. St. Patrick’s day is right up there with Christmas for us. My aunt told us when we were little that she had a leprechaun named Sean living in her house, and we could only see him if we looked really closely. Of course we pretended we could see him. And my father’s ancestors are from Ireland so we hold hard work on a pedestal.
My mom’s side is there as well, and we cherish those beliefs and customs too. Her family I don’t know where they came from originally. The Hutchins are a very religious family. They go to a Methodist church, participate in church activities and pray before every meal. They read the bible for fun. They cherish family values. If half of the Hutchins knew that I smoked or that I had lived unmarried for 5 years with a boyfriend they would have a stroke.
When I say that the focus is on my father’s side, I mean because we are “Tynans”. To be a Tynan is more than a last name. A Tynan is a whole other thing in itself. We are clutzes. We have crazy things happen to us that couldn’t happen to anyone else. My aunt’s parking break came off and her car rolled down a hill into the side of a church. My uncle’s dog unburied his old dead dog and tried to get my uncle to play tug of war. My father went camping in the desert back in the Charles Manson era and found a bloody sleeping bag.
Tynans are also incredibly smart. My cousins all aced their SATs. My uncle is a neurologist and runs an alzheimers wing in his hospital. My aunt is a teacher. My father is a geologist. The smarts make us weird too. People don’t always get us. Our sense of humor is very dry and quick. We also hold our appreciation of Monty Python very dearly.
My father’s family came from nothing. My dad was born and raised in NY. Each member worked very hard to get somewhere in life. My dad had to work all through High School to pay for his tuition. My aunt and father both had to work to pay for their college tuition. My uncle studied hard and got scholorships and a free ride all through college. My grandmother and grandfather worked and gave my dad, aunt and uncle what they could. My grandma and grandpa never went to college so they wanted very badly for their children and grandchildren to succeed.
Success shouldn’t be confused with being rich. None of us Tynans are rich. Success is going to school, getting a degree and working hard for a living, getting married and raising a family. My aunt never married, but she always has someone she is taking care of or helping. She cared for my great aunt, my great cousin, my great grandmother and my grandmother until the day they died.
I am trying to live up to the Tynan name. I have the clumsy part down pretty well. My smarts aren’t quite up to par, though I won’t belittle myself and say that I am an idiot. I have my areas of intelligence, they’re just no where near the genious IQs of the others in the Tynan clan. I am working hard at school to get a degree. Its not the one they would like me to get. They want me to go to a University and get a Bachelors or Masters degree. I just want my ASL degree. Maybe someday I’ll go on to get a teaching degree and teach ASL. Who knows. I’m also working hard at my job. Its not a glamerous job and I often come home smelling like grease and food. It’s a job though and I’ve always been taught to work hard and well.
That’s something that is really pounded into my head. Work well. I’m amazed that people are lazy or blatantly disrespectful at a job. I was taught that you are there to work, you are being paid to work and you better work to the best of your ability. The same goes for school work. If you can’t do something, its up to you to find out how. Its no one else’s problem. When I was having trouble last semester, I didn’t want to ask for extensions from all my teachers. It isn’t their problem. So when I couldn’t take anymore I had to drop the semester and hope for a better one this time around. And I’ll have to make up the classes I lost, but that is ok with me because that is what I know has to be done.
Pride is another big Tynan trait. We are very proud people. Not bragging proud, but humble proud. We don’t often ask to borrow money or admit when we need help. We don’t go to the doctor if we think we can work it out ourselves. Its stubbornness as well as pride. My favorite example of Tynan pride would be dinners at my grandmothers. We would go visit her and there would be these huge meals of leftovers from who knows when. Everyone would eat until there was one piece left on the serving plate. No one would touch it. It sat there until we were done eating then went into the fridge to come out at the next meal and not be touched again. No one will take the last piece of food. I don’t know if its because they don’t want to seem greedy, or they want someone else to eat it, or what… I don’t know. I don’t have this trait however. If there is one left I ask if anyone wants it, and if they say no then its mine!
My mother’s side I feel like I am neglecting. There are a lot more of them than there are Tynans. My mom grew up on a farm in Iowa, born and raised. She also had to work very hard. My grandpa and grandma died when I was very young, but some of their values have passed down to me. Grandpa was very big on doing a good, hard job. My mom became a nurse, my aunt became an audiologist, my other aunt a horse trainer and my uncle an optometrist. My grandpa was in the military so he instilled some of the military life on his family. Each morning he got on their intercom and played revelee to wake them up.
My grandmother I don’t remember at all, but from what my mom tells me she was a great lady. She has passed down many recipes, some were published in cook books, and my family loves to cook. (Unfortunately I didn’t receive the cooking gene, much to everyone’s disappointment.) She was also very patient and I believe she was the glue that held the family together.
One of my favorite traditions passed from my grandpa was morning Cocoa and Toast. Every morning when we visited we would get up early on the farm and my grandpa would make this for us. Its hot chocolate with peanut butter toast. You dunk the toast in the hot chocolate. It was so good. My cousins, myself and grandpa would all sit around the kitchen table in the early morning eating and talking. I still eat cocoa and toast to this day, though not early in the morning anymore.
My family drives me nuts, but they are very important to me. Our values and traditions and everything we cherish will be with me for the rest of my life. I hope to uphold most of the things I was taught. And I hope that one day I can pass on my values and traditions to my own family.
My family is an interesting one. We’re all nuts. But we care for each other and try to live good lives, so I guess that’s all that matters. Our customs and beliefs are a hodge-podge. They come from both sides of my family, and the ones we have made for ourselves.
Our focus is probably more on my dad’s side of the family. We’re very proud of our Irish heritage. It dictates much of our lives and traditions. St. Patrick’s day is right up there with Christmas for us. My aunt told us when we were little that she had a leprechaun named Sean living in her house, and we could only see him if we looked really closely. Of course we pretended we could see him. And my father’s ancestors are from Ireland so we hold hard work on a pedestal.
My mom’s side is there as well, and we cherish those beliefs and customs too. Her family I don’t know where they came from originally. The Hutchins are a very religious family. They go to a Methodist church, participate in church activities and pray before every meal. They read the bible for fun. They cherish family values. If half of the Hutchins knew that I smoked or that I had lived unmarried for 5 years with a boyfriend they would have a stroke.
When I say that the focus is on my father’s side, I mean because we are “Tynans”. To be a Tynan is more than a last name. A Tynan is a whole other thing in itself. We are clutzes. We have crazy things happen to us that couldn’t happen to anyone else. My aunt’s parking break came off and her car rolled down a hill into the side of a church. My uncle’s dog unburied his old dead dog and tried to get my uncle to play tug of war. My father went camping in the desert back in the Charles Manson era and found a bloody sleeping bag.
Tynans are also incredibly smart. My cousins all aced their SATs. My uncle is a neurologist and runs an alzheimers wing in his hospital. My aunt is a teacher. My father is a geologist. The smarts make us weird too. People don’t always get us. Our sense of humor is very dry and quick. We also hold our appreciation of Monty Python very dearly.
My father’s family came from nothing. My dad was born and raised in NY. Each member worked very hard to get somewhere in life. My dad had to work all through High School to pay for his tuition. My aunt and father both had to work to pay for their college tuition. My uncle studied hard and got scholorships and a free ride all through college. My grandmother and grandfather worked and gave my dad, aunt and uncle what they could. My grandma and grandpa never went to college so they wanted very badly for their children and grandchildren to succeed.
Success shouldn’t be confused with being rich. None of us Tynans are rich. Success is going to school, getting a degree and working hard for a living, getting married and raising a family. My aunt never married, but she always has someone she is taking care of or helping. She cared for my great aunt, my great cousin, my great grandmother and my grandmother until the day they died.
I am trying to live up to the Tynan name. I have the clumsy part down pretty well. My smarts aren’t quite up to par, though I won’t belittle myself and say that I am an idiot. I have my areas of intelligence, they’re just no where near the genious IQs of the others in the Tynan clan. I am working hard at school to get a degree. Its not the one they would like me to get. They want me to go to a University and get a Bachelors or Masters degree. I just want my ASL degree. Maybe someday I’ll go on to get a teaching degree and teach ASL. Who knows. I’m also working hard at my job. Its not a glamerous job and I often come home smelling like grease and food. It’s a job though and I’ve always been taught to work hard and well.
That’s something that is really pounded into my head. Work well. I’m amazed that people are lazy or blatantly disrespectful at a job. I was taught that you are there to work, you are being paid to work and you better work to the best of your ability. The same goes for school work. If you can’t do something, its up to you to find out how. Its no one else’s problem. When I was having trouble last semester, I didn’t want to ask for extensions from all my teachers. It isn’t their problem. So when I couldn’t take anymore I had to drop the semester and hope for a better one this time around. And I’ll have to make up the classes I lost, but that is ok with me because that is what I know has to be done.
Pride is another big Tynan trait. We are very proud people. Not bragging proud, but humble proud. We don’t often ask to borrow money or admit when we need help. We don’t go to the doctor if we think we can work it out ourselves. Its stubbornness as well as pride. My favorite example of Tynan pride would be dinners at my grandmothers. We would go visit her and there would be these huge meals of leftovers from who knows when. Everyone would eat until there was one piece left on the serving plate. No one would touch it. It sat there until we were done eating then went into the fridge to come out at the next meal and not be touched again. No one will take the last piece of food. I don’t know if its because they don’t want to seem greedy, or they want someone else to eat it, or what… I don’t know. I don’t have this trait however. If there is one left I ask if anyone wants it, and if they say no then its mine!
My mother’s side I feel like I am neglecting. There are a lot more of them than there are Tynans. My mom grew up on a farm in Iowa, born and raised. She also had to work very hard. My grandpa and grandma died when I was very young, but some of their values have passed down to me. Grandpa was very big on doing a good, hard job. My mom became a nurse, my aunt became an audiologist, my other aunt a horse trainer and my uncle an optometrist. My grandpa was in the military so he instilled some of the military life on his family. Each morning he got on their intercom and played revelee to wake them up.
My grandmother I don’t remember at all, but from what my mom tells me she was a great lady. She has passed down many recipes, some were published in cook books, and my family loves to cook. (Unfortunately I didn’t receive the cooking gene, much to everyone’s disappointment.) She was also very patient and I believe she was the glue that held the family together.
One of my favorite traditions passed from my grandpa was morning Cocoa and Toast. Every morning when we visited we would get up early on the farm and my grandpa would make this for us. Its hot chocolate with peanut butter toast. You dunk the toast in the hot chocolate. It was so good. My cousins, myself and grandpa would all sit around the kitchen table in the early morning eating and talking. I still eat cocoa and toast to this day, though not early in the morning anymore.
My family drives me nuts, but they are very important to me. Our values and traditions and everything we cherish will be with me for the rest of my life. I hope to uphold most of the things I was taught. And I hope that one day I can pass on my values and traditions to my own family.