Some of our DC trip

I'm back from a short respite from blogging. I'm gonna be honest though, I don't know how often I'll be here. Right now I'm working on....nothing. I'm not sure what I want to write about and since that's the main thing here, it's a problem. 

But here's what's on my mind today. 

There are many moving parts to my family right now. One of our kids is planning a move to Mississippi with a PhD being the goal and then one moving back from Texas, with financial services jobs not the goal. And I have a terrible summer cold and I feel miserable. I feel sorry for myself. 

On Saturday my summer cold and I went with John and Owen to Mississippi to apartment hunt and get acquainted with the city. We made progress on both those fronts. Before the fact finding mission we knew nothing about Mississippi. Now we know 2%. We saw some lovely spots around town and some not so lovely spots. All in all it's pretty standard fare for an American city. 

Owen will be moving in less than two months and I think he'll be a very busy guy in the next few years. I'm not sure how often we'll see him, but growing up is the better part of life, so I'll take it and learn to enjoy his coming home to see us. 

Since he's leaving, and since he and I have never taken a trip with just the two of us, after graduation last month he and I flew to DC for a few days to see the sights and spend some time together. 

When we planned this trip a couple of months ago we had no idea that every single grade schooler in the United States of America was also planning a trip to DC. But by golly they did and I feel like we met each and every one of them during our stay. They met us right there in the metroplex. I don't even know if DC is a metroplex and I don't care enough to look it up, but it feels like it SHOULD be a metroplex. 

Even though it rained every day while we were there, and Owen refused my offer of a tea party or a view of the White House china, we had a lovely time. It was definitely not a girlie trip. But we had so much fun and I saw stuff I would not have chosen to see on my own. As far as I could tell, the millions of American grade schoolers had a lovely time as well. However, in case you did not know, grade schoolers have absolutely no self awareness of any kind, they rarely use their inside voices and they never know or feel like they are ever near other people. I know this, because I vacationed with all of them. ALL of them. 

At the top of Owen's list of places to go was the Holocaust Museum and let me just say it was not mine. But he had command of the choices and so we went our first afternoon. While Emma was at work, he and I went to the museum but it was just before closing. We walked through the bottom two floors quickly and because it was near the end of the day, we left after about an hour. That evening at dinner with Emma, I commented on how little there was to see. She looked stunned and said, "Did you see the shoes?" Me, "No." "Did you see the photos?" "No." Did you get a passport and go up to the top floor and work your way down?" "No." "Yeah you have to go back because you saw nothing."  

So the next morning we went back and stood with our fellow students in the rain while waiting for the Holocaust Museum to open. We had a moment with a kid from New Jersey who ended up under Owen's umbrella, because apparently when kids from New Jersey see an opportunity, they take it. But he was nice and then finally we made it inside. We found our passports, began at the top floor like we were supposed to, and began our sobering journey into the stories of people who lived the horror of the holocaust. Because the dead can't speak for themselves.  

To be honest I thought I'd never go see this exhibit for fear of it being too much to take, but I'm glad I did. And what struck me was there were so many people there touring the place, but no one was speaking except in hushed tones. There was a stark reverence that people respected and the memory of that has stayed with me.

I saw the shoes.....

I love photos of all kinds, but taking pictures there just didn't seem right. It felt too touristy and wrong. So I didn't take a photo of the shoes. But I'll always remember the huge piles on display. This was the first time I'd ever been in close proximity of items from the Holocaust. It was overwhelming to see. And the stories? Gut wrenching. At some point it all becomes too much for a human to take in, because how can people be so evil? 

We found the walls of photos Emma told us about. And there in the midst of all of the terrible stories, I had to stop and stare into the eyes of those I didn't know. 

But somehow, they seemed familiar to me.

They were parents, grandparents, children....all families who belonged to someone and they all lived in one small town in Lithuania. Eishyshok was a place where almost 4000 Jews had lived for nearly 900 years. Almost all of them were murdered because they were Jews. Only 29 people survived the massacre. 

One of the survivors, Yaffa Eliach, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and so many years collecting photographs of the people who lived in Eishyshok. She wanted people to see the faces of those who had once lived there. And because of her work, so became this massive three story wall of people from the past who didn't deserve to die. 

While standing there, I realized that my family has pictures very much like the ones of the victims of Eishyshok. Beautiful, old photographs of people who I never met, but I'm connected to by birth and blood. It was a stark reminder that we are all very similar as human beings. And many of us try to hold to our connection of family from the past.  

I can't imagine how the 29 survivors managed to live through the horror they experienced and tell their story...and the story of the death of their loved ones. History is so important to remember and learn from. 

I'm glad Owen and I went back that second day to see the entire exhibit. It's something I'll always remember. I don't think I have adequate words to describe my tiny experience of seeing the Holocaust Museum, so I'll stop right here.

If you've never been to see it and you have the chance to go, you should. And give at least four hours to spend there. It's worth it, and the people whose faces stare at the passersby deserve it. 

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, "To forget the dead would be akin to killing them again."

We must never forget.