Page 50 - How We Lead Matters

Packing Light

When I learned that I was to be honored as Swedish American of the Year,
I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to take my grandchildren to
Sweden, where their ancestors on my father’s side originated.
I quickly realized that the many formal dinners, long speeches, and late
nights were quite trying for children. The discontent is well documented in
one photo in which all the grandchildren have joined me on stage with King
Carl Gustaf XVI and Queen Silvia. If you look closely, you’ll see that 8 year-
old Jenny is barefoot, having kicked off her shoes in boredom.
It seemed that at every expression of my enthusiasm, they questioned
me about why they should be impressed with our Swedish ancestry since they
were not just Swedish but also English, Welsh, Romanian, and Pakistani. I
told them that the point is to find something in the culture that makes them
proud of their ancestry—all of it. My suggestion was greeted by blank stares
and silence. It definitely wasn’t turning out to be the sentimental journey to
our ancestral roots that I’d had in mind.
Alone at last at a family-only dinner on our final night, one of the
grandchildren announced that they would put on a “show” of the trip.
Amazingly, one by one they retraced our steps, quoting from my speeches
about Sweden’s accomplishments and telling our family’s story.
“Each person packed a trunk,” recited Jamie, describing the dilemma of
distant ancestors, “The key is that they had to decide what to take with
them: tools to shape their new world, mementos to remind them of where
they came from, their faith to sustain them, and finally, they needed to know
what to leave behind.”
True of each generation no matter how far the journey.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 33