The photo album

When my aunt and uncle (and cousin) emigrated to the USA, the family came together for a huge goodbye party.

Kids were not invited, and to this day I am sad about that.

As my cousin Margo wrote in one of her letters about this:

"That's how children at that time were kept out of a lot of important events, like funerals, births etc. As if you didn't need to say goodbye to your family members, who you'd known all your young life."

I was allowed to help make the crepe paper red/white and blue skirts, the crepe paper flowers on the hats, for several skits and songs.
I remember my parents writing songs and skits, and rehearsing them. The fun they had, the laughter at night in the living room while we were in bed, the anticipation...

The party was held at Margo's parents house. My aunt, uncle and cousin were brought to the party in style. In a black horse-drawn carriage. From the pictures I remember my aunt wearing a fur stole, or scarf. My uncle was likely in "jacquet" (tuxedo) and a high hat.

It was customary to throw a party like this for relatives who were going overseas. After all, it was something new, they were the first to dare take on this adventure. It was HUGE.

Unfortunately, I can only remember that party by the pictures they took. It was almost like being there, but not really.

One of the going away gifts they were presented with was a photo album. One of those beautiful old ones, leather/wood like cover with black pages and filmy sheets of parchment between each page. The book was lovingly put together by my mother's brother. He made pictures of each family, then wrote with white ink, in beautiful calligraphy the names of each member of that family, with their birth dates, wedding dates etc.

Many, many years later, my aunts and I would haul out that photo album, sometimes just to look at it and remember, but most of the time to remind ourselves about wedding and birth dates.
In fact, I can honestly say that this book was looked at every time I visited, especially in the later years.

How wonderful that now, my cousin Margo mentioned that book as well. When she visited my aunt and cousin in Australia, the book was once again brought out. Like a dear treasure, which is certainly is. She felt like seeing it brought back her past...I know how she feels!

I know that my cousin will treasure it forever, and hand it over to his children when the time comes.
It is a rare and precious glimpse of one group of relatives, families, at one certain point in time.

Many of the people in the pictures are long gone of course. And there were a few children born after. For those of us who ARE in that album, and the fact that we are at this point reconnecting again, is amazing.

Most of us have lead roller coaster lives. Some of us escaped to far away lands, some of us stuck around in the old country. But somehow there is a bond. And I hope that we will all be able to get together in the future, if only to hug each other just ONCE. To feel like the big strong family we once were, back in the olden days.

One fact has surface while writing my cousins back and forth the past weeks.
Life as we knew it when we grew up is definitely a thing of the past.
It was a very unique time. Families deeply affected by the war, struggling to start their families, keep them fed and clothed. The deeply devout catholic parents. The strict rules, the fear, the guilt, the ignorance. It must have been so hard to keep it all together then.

And now we look back, and we shiver from some of the memories that are bad, we shake our heads at some of the ridiculous nonsense we were taught. But we all also have memories of much love, of great courage, of perseverance.

I think we can all look back at our parents and see that they did the best they knew how, at a time that was so dark. I can't think of any couple in my family, that got a divorce. I recall all the couples being loving to each other, and hard working to keep life going.

Life is so different now. I mean, take technology for instance. How quickly did all this stuff develop the past ten years?
I understand why my parents are not in the least interested in learning to use a computer.
My father, who put together intricate phone installations in his time, now can't understand how a simple cell phone works.

Ahhh...I wonder how our kids will look back at us....40 years from now....

Scary thought...that....

SGMKJ!