Figuring out what I wanna be when I grow up.
Oop..I AM grown up...


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sunday Inspiration











source
This is my grandmother.  In the second last picture, you can't quite see it, but she has a letter "P" pinned to her dress.  She had to wear this during the war.  It indicated that she is Polish.

She was taken from her family to work as forced labour on a German farm during the war.

She came to Canada with her two young children and had my mother in a Northern Ontario town, where my Grandfather worked in the gold mines.

She lived to be 85 years old, had four children and nine grandchildren, and was still alive to hold four great grandchildren.

I was thinking of my grandma as I went for my walk early this morning. It's good to be here.

Life is hard.  We have to pull ourselves up out of bed every day and keep going, even though our days are at times tedious, a struggle, painful, and filled with sadness.  We do this in hopes that one day we will be the person who others look back upon with fondness and love, and remember our wisdom, our wonderful secret recipes, our quirks and foibles, and the indomitable spirit that makes us just who we're meant to be--different from anyone else.

It's good to be here.

41 comments:

  1. wow, i didn't know they made people wear a P for polish back then. maybe better than an A for adultry though. i know some people i'd like to pin an S for skank, but that's a totally different subject.
    and yes, it's good that you're here. i only wish here was closer to there so we could have coffee and dr pepper and laugh at our kids.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, what a wonderful tribute. To be remembered with such fondness, respect, and admiration.

    This was lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect - thank you, Karen. You are a blessing - to so many people. . .you are living the legacy she wished for. . .and I am sure she is watching over you, every day, in every way. Love to you and more and more happiness!. . .C.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a perfect way to start out Thanksgiving week. Well, at least in the States.
    Have a great Monday and thanks for sharing this.
    m.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a lovely and insightful tribute. Your blog is a breath of fresh air and on my first visit I am already your newest follower (not something I do much any more). If you need a smile, come by and say hello sometime. I'll certainly be back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My Great Grandma (moms side, my grandpas parents) were German. I dont know alot about what happened during the war...they NEVER spoke about it. I do know that they came to Canada to raise thier ever growing family. I wish I knew more.
    Loved the pictures...Wow! You mom looks alot like your grandma...I never really noticed that before!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful post. We all get so caught up in trivial day to day things - thanks for reminding me that there are real hardships out there, and not to get worked up over the small stuff. Have a great Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very interesting. I never knew that they made the Polish people where a badge like they had the Jews.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Actually Sherilin, it's interesting, because while we hear a great deal about the suffering and annihilation of Jewish persons during WWII (and rightfully so), it is lesser known how many Polish people were shipped out to work, basically as slaves, and how devastated and ravaged Poland was by the war.

    Dr. Pepper, huh--my coffe would make you a convert! All hail COFFEE MATE! Yeah, that would be great!

    Now go pin your S for SEXAY on!

    ReplyDelete
  10. thanks Christina, and love and happiness to you as well. What a nice idea of my grandmother watching over me--except she probably thinks I have too much junk everywhere then :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, that's right Mark: happy Thanksgiving to you and my American friends this week!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Why, I do need a smile Helen! Thanks so much for your kind words and for dropping on in. Always nice to see someone new joining the comment room fun!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yeah Steph, there is a strong family resemblance that wasn't so apparent when my grandmother became old. My youngest aunt SUPER resembles my grandmother. It's crazy.

    Yeah, I'll bet your relatives would have had some very interesting stories to tell.

    ReplyDelete
  14. thanks Vesta! I was hoping it didn't come across as a lecture, but rather an inspiration, because we all have those days that are just so damn hard.

    ReplyDelete
  15. i'm willing to convert to your coffee based on taste, but unless you can convert my colon, i can't ever make the change. there's just something about violent diarhea that makes me avoid it. i know, i'm just snobby that way.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You've just done your grandma proud.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh yeah Sherilin--I forgot about your post about that. Okay, tis true, it does have that effect on a body at times, but it's so warm and snuggy in my mug.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I hope so Lizbeth! She could be mighty crusty.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Karen, I need to know. What the hell is SENIOR KINDERGARTEN?

    What is it? Kids born before August first are Seniors?

    Kids who failed kindergarten the first time?

    Taller 5 year olds? Smarter 5 year olds?

    Sorry, but why can't it just be kindergarten....? What do we have 2 years of kindergarten before grade one now?

    "hey I am a first year kindergarten, what are you?"

    "Oh, I am a senior"

    Frick, I liked kindergarten when we could just play at the sand tables, learn nursery rhymes, and have a nap.

    I miss the good ol days....and we all turned out just fine.

    I can wait to be a senior, and I have a good 25 -30 years left.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Melissa, where the hell did that come from? We were talking about fortitude. Lol!
    Anyhoo...senior kindergarten? Well, when we went to kindergarten, technically that's what we went to. I imagine the only reason they have junior and senior kindergarten now is because most parents can't afford to even have kids, so they're shuffled off to school as quickly as possible to people can work.

    Also, to keep us sane.

    Yeah, 2 years of kindergarten is indeed pretty stupid, especially if yer kid is a smartie.

    ReplyDelete
  21. It came from your last post....You wrote it......silly.

    ReplyDelete
  22. or maybe the post before that......heck I dunno but now you know I dilligently read your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  23. to tell you the truth Melissa, I can't remember when I last brought up about kindergarten, because I'm getting senile. Maybe it was in the comments section of the vomit post...

    anyhow like I said, you're right: two years of kindergarten is retarded but damn, it's a nice little 2 hour break!

    ReplyDelete
  24. your grammie seemed like a real brave lady...God bless her soul,and like i said before they were 'the greatest generation'. this post also reminds me of a quote, not sure who said it, but it is powerful'when good men do nothing, evil flourishes'.i pray no person has to ever again wear a badge to identify, their nationality or religion.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sometimes when I am nearly cracking from my own set of struggles, I am reminded of the struggles of some of the previous generations. Then I suffer a layer of guilt on top of the stress, because I think I should have nothing to be stressed about. Does that make any sense?

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love your blog! :) I hope you don't mind that I became a follower of your blog! :) Erin

    ReplyDelete
  27. i googled the quote, it was a british man named edmund burke.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks Paula H.--the quote is great and so fitting. And you're right, let's all hope history doesn't repeat itself in that regard.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Matt, it does make sense. But let's look at this in a different way: my intent wasn't actually to say 'suck it up karen, and everyone else--lookit how hard my GRAMMA HAD IT!"

    My message is actually this:
    Don't worry, life is a trial, but look at my grandmother--even though it was very very hard during many periods, she MADE IT through, so we can too. This too shall pass.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Erin you're so silly! Why on earth would I mind if you follow my blog? You must have missed my enormous ego. Ha ha, I kid. Thanks for joining the fun!

    ReplyDelete
  31. googling is so fun, isn't it Paula? When did he make that quote--I'll have to look THAT up!

    ReplyDelete
  32. wow--he lived in the 1700's. So some things always resonate!

    ReplyDelete
  33. HEY KAREN!!!! With Erin joining, you now officially have 100 members/followers of your blog!!! Congratulations! Remember I told you you should have a party when you hit that milestone? So...I will wait by the snail mail box for my invitation. No wait. That makes zero sense. I will wait for your blogvitation!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Matt, the pressure! Ha, thanks for noticing. Since I've been sneezing and snuffling all week I've not been feeling very festive, and normally I'd be much more woo-hoo.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Ahem. Laoch was talking to ME, I believe. No need to apologize, it can happen to anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Lovely, chovely. My grandma rocked too. Yay for grandmas.

    Sarah xxx

    ReplyDelete
  37. yeah, I had a feeling yours rocked too, Sarah. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

I lurv comments. Thank you for the comments. They are scrumptious.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails