Despite it being a sad day of farewell on the one hand, on the other hand it was a beautiful day together with the kids and Auntie. In some ways it was a perfect goodbye to our son and our new family of in-laws.
My husband and I emptied our large carry on bags first thing in the morning and refilled them with all the kitchen utensils, foods and dish towels the kids provided for us. The grey clouded skies were threatening but we managed to duck out to the bus between rainstorms. All was well until we stepped off the bus into a teeming downpour, haha. In the less than two blocks we had to walk between the bus stop and the kids’ apartment we got drenched! It felt kind of good, despite us both being saddled down with heavy bags.
My husband cooked pancakes for us all while the kids supplied fabulous fresh fruits, plump sausages and perfectly cooked bacon. A touch of real maple syrup and brunch was complete. Gosh it was good.
After lunch Auntie showed us old family photos and told us the history of their family: an epic story of war, concentration camps, interrogations, prisons and fleeing for their lives from country to country for too many years. It was on the one hand stomach turning to hear these truths, but on the other hand it was a story of the remarkable resilience of those who survived not only the war but the continuing post war horrors that are rarely brought to light any more. I managed not to cry, but it wasn’t easy. We were shown photos by our son’s wife of her most beautiful mother, a former model and an amazing, loving mother who tragically passed when her daughter was in high school. We felt most privileged to be shown these special treasured pictures.
My son and I were able to take a short walk together and share some thoughts close to both our hearts. Our family is in the process of being transformed and we thank God for that.
Finally we could string our visit out no longer and we all said our goodbyes. The rain had completely cleared off by then so we tossed the now empty carry on bags over our shoulders and walked the 24 blocks home so we could say our silent goodbyes to the various shops and restaurants we enjoyed over the past month. We walked past the Empire State Building glistening in the late afternoon sun and said a prayer of thanks for this most amazing vacation with our family.
Tonight we dined on leftovers, took our recycling to the basement, showered, packed as much as possible, arranged our taxi to the airport in the morning and now at 8:30pm we are already getting ready for sleep.
It has been one of the happiest months of our lives!
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