“My grandmother says the phrase ‘meshindet’ a lot.  It means ‘in good health’, roughly translated from Albanian.  My mother and aunts say it a lot too because they got it from my grandmother.  We say it whenever we’re spending money together as a family, like a family dinner or a family vacation or anything.  It’s like an acknowledgement of the prosperous times we’re living whenever we’re able to spend that money, because everyone’s healthy, everyone’s together, and we can afford to do nice things together as a family sometimes.”

ANALYSIS:

I really like this proverb because of both it’s strong roots in Albanian culture and the positive and grateful meaning behind it.  Picturing a family getting together for a nice family meal and then saying ‘meshindet’ when the check comes just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.  I hope this particular proverb continues to find strong life as this family grows into new generations because I think it could really do a lot to help a family keep a positive outlook when times are both good and bad.