The Journey Continues

 

Late in 2016, I was approached by a representative of the government of Hamburg Germany, the city from which my father’s family fled. I was invited to attend something which roughly translated as “The Welcoming”. In the past years, the city of Hamburg has invited small groups of Holocaust survivors and/or their descendants to come to Hamburg for a week, and to attend several events. The visit culminates with a dinner with the city council and mayor, and includes a reconciliation of sorts. I of course immediately accepted, even knowing my father would have hated the entire thing.

We leave in 3 days for this exciting journey. At the end of the week in Hamburg, more than a dozen of my family members will descend en masse to the same hotel in which we’re staying for an impromptu reunion. I am deeply touched and blessed by their enthusiasm and generosity in welcoming me to Europe. I haven’t seen many of these folks for more than 30 years.

This month has been a very tumultuous and trying time in my life. Everything I have held near and dear (with the exception of my husband) has changed dramatically and quickly. My only child graduated from college, and accepted a job 2400 miles away. In a great whirlwind we helped him pack up and move. Amazing, exciting times for him. I remember that time of life when the entire world was filled with possibilities and I rejoice for him. How hard it is though to be so far away.  Then this past week I was forcibly early retired from a career which has spanned my entire adult life. As I sit here, I am still reeling from the shock and hurt that accompanies such a thing. In one week, my entire reality has changed dramatically through no action of mine and without my consent.

I am reminded of my father, as I struggle to make sense of my world on the eve of a very important journey to the place where he began. I am reminded of his resilience in the face of losing everything familiar to him. I am reminded of his pain, and his rage, and his perseverance and his survival. How very poignant his journey appears as my own journey begins.