Family Memories Around the Dinner Table

When I was little I use to help my grandma prepare for the holiday season. She would start months before Thanksgiving and Christmas preparing fresh pies, homemade rolls, and fresh green beans. Bake in the days when people spent more time in the kitchen then in a take out line. Even though she froze everything it always tasted like she just made them that day.  We would gather at my Aunt and Uncles house for a huge delicious holiday dinner with all the family surrounded by great food.

It would be a fun day of playing with all my cousins, lots of love, and plenty of eating.  That is how I grew up, and the memories are instilled in my mind to this day and I can still taste my Grandmas fresh rolls,that would melt in your mouth. Her fresh green beans made with salt pork and seasoned to perfection and the sweetness of her homemade pies starting with a flaky homemade crust are still some of the best foods I’ve ever had. Though I must admit I’m a pretty good cook myself, it still isn’t grandma’s cooking.

When I married we moved away from my family and the sweet taste of homemade pies, fresh rolls and perfect green beans became wonderful memories.

Western Union recognized that many of their customers are people who currently live in one place but are from another. Their heart feels like its in two places, with strong ties to their birth place.  Western Union is a lifeline connecting their customer to their families and friends around the world with 500,000 agent locations.

So Western Union decided to hold a customer-appreciation event at one of their retail location where they  invited their customers to share their memories of food, family, and culture on camera. It became very clear that food is a part of someone’s cultural identity and a link to family and good memories. I couldn’t agree more!

They captured 24 customer stories through this heartwarming storytelling video, where Western Union surprises and delights their customers with their favorite meal from home from their families. I know when my daughters lived in other states with no family I would have loved to surprise them with a homemade family meal.

When I watched this video it warms my heart to see a large company like Western Union take the time to reach out to their customers and give them a gift of family memories and bring their culture to them through their traditional food. I have lived in 9 different states away from my family  and I know first hand how lonely it can be especially at the holidays.  While watching the video I thought how nice it would have been to be able to taste my Grandmas, delicious traditional holiday foods she always prepared.

Do you have someone who you would love to connect with?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.