I contemplated for a while which picture to post today, and decided to go with an older picture. This picture signifies my love for my family in the Netherlands, whom are so far away, and still very much loved. The internet sure has made it easier to keep into contact with them, but I wish it would be possible to just hop over and see them more often.
The timing of this picture is October 2001, just a few weeks after 9/11. My father was not doing well, and my mother-in-law flew over to our house, so that I could go visit him and say goodbye to him. We had arranged all that before 9/11, I had some thinking to do after it happened. My conclusion was that it was more important to me to see my father one last time, than it was to live in fear of something happening to me on the way. I was not going to let terrorists dictate me whether I would fly or not, I stepped on that plane willing to take any consequences of that decision.
It was a bitter-sweet time in the Netherlands, seeing old friends and family, spending time with my father, knowing it would be the very last time I would ever see him alive. Erik was the only one of my kids who was with me, he was almost 9 months old at the time. Holding on to him helped me to deal with some of the emotions around that trip, and I was happy that my father got to meet him. I am still sad that I never was able to introduce Sylvia to him, but I like to think that he does know anyway and watches me from wherever he is now.
The picture shows Erik and my brother-in-law with his horse. I love the way Henk was carrying around Erik in the sling and how he showered tons of love on Erik in the short time they were able to spend together. I really wish we were closer and could visit them more often. My life here is good, but there should be an easy, fast and cheap way to see my Dutch family more often.
5 comments:
your post struck a cord of melancoly in me. I too miss my family, although they are not so far away as yours. None of my brothers or sisters live near me and we cherish the time we can spend together. And to add insult to injury my oldest daughter (19) just told me that she can't spend the holidays with us. She is going hunting (of all things) with her boyfriend and his family over thanksgiving in Montana and then has to work over Christmas and only has the actaul day off. It's too far to drive from Utah to Texas in one day :( And she has two friends getting married that week and wants to go to the weddings. Really she's not even sad. I want her to have her own life...just does it have to be so far from mine?
Your post struck me too Karen. It's so hard to be far from family. I have especially been feeling it since my dad got so sick.
I just love the picture:-)
Lovely pic, Karen.
I miss our family in SA too. It is difficult being so far away, and it is so expensive to get back for holidays ...
Thanks so much for the hugs -- Happy Love Thursday!
Very touching post. It is so hard being far away from family.
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