While we are talking about Serbs

Again searching for Serbian and Bosnia funeral customs, I came across an interesting article.

While this article doesn't directly resonate with my experience as a Serbo-Croatian-American, some slices of it do. The overall tone does remind me of my father and family. My father was younger than this woman's father, and lived in Serbia in between wars, born in 1947 and coming to the US in 1973. Like when the author says, "Serbs are literal." It reminded me of how my father was like that.

A recent example was when I had decided that if Mike asked for my hand in marriage, I would say yes. I also knew he would be the type of guy to ask my father first. So, I ever-so-slyly prepped my dad, telling him that if Mike asked him to just say Yes. He nodded, smiling, "Okay." Mike and I also had a ritual of coming to the family home each Thursday to watch sappy prime time dramas, which my father usually opted-out of, spending his time in the basement.

Soon I started to notice him sitting upstairs in the kitchen every week instead. I figured that he was making an attempt to get to know Mike better, or maybe liked the TV shows. After a few weeks I asked him, "So, do you like the TV show?" "No, not really." He replied. After seeing my quizzical look he offered, "Well, I thought you said Mike was going to ask me to marry you, so I'm waiting."

That kind of literal. It warmed my heart.