This week I was in Austin, TX for a conference and one of the nights, I had a fabulous dinner with a client, that turned out to be a true heart-to-heart. Of course that was after two glasses of wine and a margarita. A good, Texan margarita.
We launched into a great discussion about life, politics, and (of course) marketing (but only a little of the latter). I have the problem that I become a chatterbox after a couple drinks and talk about who-knows-what. But apparently who-knows-what is actually my parents.
That's right. Two glasses of wine and a margarita later, I'm going on and on about how I admire my parents. Their whole story - their life in the Soviet Union, their immigration, how amazing it is that they did all this so their children could have a better life. And how they don't even talk about it. It is the classic American Dream story, except the somehow humble version of it...?
I guess the part that amazes me is the humble part. The part how they don't talk about how our family of four lived in one bedroom in a shared apartment for years. How people were persecuted at their offices, or even lost their jobs, if they applied for immigration. How it took four years of applying for immigration and getting denied each time (every six months I believe) before they finally got the go-ahead. It amazes me to know how they lived, how different our lives are now, and that they don't even relish in it (none of that "in my day, I had to walk to school uphill both ways barefoot in the snow"). They do, of course, have lives to live and I know they appreciate so much the difference in life in the US. That's the thing a lot of people don't realize (oh, here comes my tiny bit of personal politics) - immigrants are among the most grateful, appreciative residents of the US. People who have not known a different way of life just don't realize how damn good it is around here. But enough of my rant. I guess I really just wanted to state my pride and admiration for my parents. I think I'm old enough now for that not to be super uncool, right?
