On May 8th, while finishing White Walls, a book exploring the intricacies of motherhood, I celebrated my first official American Mother’s Day. In Poland, we don’t celebrate Mother’s day until the end of the month. Does that mean I can celebrate twice?
The book discusses the difficult relationship of author Judy Batalion with her mother, who suffers from hoarding. The disease must be a result of her family’s history. The author’s grandmother fled, at the end of the World War II from Poland, saving herself from the Nazis. She ultimately found refuge in Canada, but the trauma remained.
Organizing personal space is a priority for the author, unlike her mother. When she became a mother herself, the obsession grew.
In her book, she also ponders how to pass her Jewish heritage to her daughter, raising her in a completely different reality. I also often wonder how to pass my Polish identity to my daughter. Am I a good teacher?
My mother recently commented that I don’t speak enough Polish to Rose, even as I was thinking I was doing a great job! But as a matter of fact, I am so far the only person here exposing my daughter to the Polish language and Polish world. My husband tries, but he is just a beginner in Polish, and she’s not hearing very often anyone else speak Polish, so I do see a big challenge in front of me!
There are many different reasons why parents want their child to learn a second language at home. Some point to the access to culture, literature and movies. Others want the child to talk with other members of the family. Another reason could be a more comprehensive development of the child. However the most important reason why I would like Rose to speak Polish, is our intimate mother- daughter relationship, which is to me, rooted in the Polish language.
Dean always reads a bedtime story in English, but from now on, I will definitely read Polish stories as well, maybe two or three times a week. Today we read a story about Krakowiaczek. Rose quickly fell asleep. Perhaps she dreamt about the Mariacki Church, which I showed her in the book?
When we lived in Bellevue, I once saw a mother and daughter just after school. They sat in an American cafeteria, eating cakes and talking warmly to each other in Russian about how their day went. I hope that in a few years Rose and I will be able to enjoy time together talking in my mother tongue!
P.S. It’s hard to believe, but in the US there is no National Children’s Day. As my husband says, every day is Kid’s Day!
New Ciekawostki are up:)
