Sifting through my mother’s disorganized piles of cards, newspaper clippings, and photos, I discovered the wrinkled paper. This kind of document, worthy of a frame and showcased in some manner, made me stop my sorting and text a picture of it to my brother. “Holy cow! That is historical!” he immediately responded. The document, a note signed by former President Gerald Ford who was a congressman at the time, congratulated my mother on achieving United States citizenship.
My mother, along with her parents and family of eight immigrated to the United States in 1948 from the Netherlands, to what my grandfather hoped for a better life. They left two daughters behind due to the fact that they were older and close to marrying their boyfriends. Beautiful people in Chestertown, Maryland provided help for the family for a few years and then they moved again to Kalamazoo, Michigan. My grandfather, a Dutch Army sergeant in WWI and bulb grower, provided for his family by laboring at the Clarage Fan Company. According to a current Clarage employer, he must have worked at the Kalamazoo, Michigan location, now since bought out by a different company. I will need to ask my remaining uncle more details.
The details of my mother’s life, often vague because she didn’t want to talk about it, left me puzzled. What was it like leaving the Netherlands and your sisters? I would ask these and other questions, but she would dismiss them with a wave of her hand. ” You don’t want to hear old stories”, she responded. Out of respect, I did not press the issue because I wondered if it was painful.
I know that our sabbatical to the Netherlands, although a grand adventure, often left me confused about the people and its culture and homesick at times. In my journal, I sometimes wrote about missing American holidays, grateful that we would see American soil in just a few short months. I remember counting the days as I journaled here:
Today is September 22. Less than four weeks remain. I can tell I am ready to return because I keep having dreams about Kansas. The ATM machine won’t accept our card. We found out why– it’s expired. Now we have to wire money here. Pain. I guess we won’t be traveling to Britain now. Oh well.
What was it like, moving to another country and living in two different states? These questions still remain, but finding this document provided a few more answers. One thing is definite: God is faithful in every location. I have seen it and know I will see it again.
A Journey Worth Remembering 