I can't say enough about how lucky I am to have gotten such great in-laws. Jochen's dad, whom I secretly call "The Amish Dude", is gentle and laid back and keeps me entertained with stories from the 30s and 40s. Jochen's mom is super sharp, generous, and, SPEAKS PERFECT ENGLISH, which contributed majorly to our bonding from the start. This is also her THIRD week this year getting Monchi -well above and beyond grandma duty. I know Jochen's mom would love nothing more than to have Pig stay the week with them, as in years before, but she also understands particularly this year it's very important for him to feel older and have the chance to have time alone with the parents again. Still, he's the prince when he comes for a visit.
And summers in Oma Opa's garden are the best!
1 comment:
Ho ho! Reading my own entry post post, I realized "entertaining stories from 30s and 40s GERMANY" may not be digestible without a certain amount of irony. In truth Jochen's dad was 20 when the war ended, drafted for one year and had to walk partly back from Russia on foot. Jochen's mom was 11 and remember vividly the bombings and the daily air raid routine. That they're the oldest people I know and yet they were only children at the time shows how as soon as we gain some common wisdom the memory of it is wiped out again...
Jochen's dad mostly tells me about his boyhood, his visits to Cologne to see his aunt, and what he did after the war. From the war itself very little has been said. The thing Hans and Helga achieved, which is no small feat, although I sometimes question its merit, is to shield their sons successfully from the terrors of their wartime experience. Except for their extreme frugality towards themselves they do not let the past cast a long shadow on the sunny disposition of youth. I think sometimes they think we're beyond naive. And we are.
Post a Comment