Throughout our travels, we get to meet so many amazing people. Often, people will have a connection to the Netherlands, reminding us about how small the world is sometimes. We want to share a particular story from our friend Cobie, someone with a strong and beautiful connection to her heritage, that touched our hearts.
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My father was born in The Haag in January of 1945, the last, brutal winter of the Dutch Occupation. My grandparents had already chopped up their kitchen table and broken apart all their other furniture to be used as fuel for the fire, a desperate attempt to keep themselves and their two little boys warm through the bitter winter nights. They had even burned the rubber off their bike tires. On the night of January 6th, my Oma went into labor.
(The Hague, Spui, 1930's)
Opa jumped on his rubber-less bicycle, breaking curfew and risking arrest, to bring the Doctor to help his wife. The clang of the metal rims echoing through the silent streets. In the wee hours, a baby boy, my father, was born. He was tiny, weak, only 4lbs.
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“This is a horrible time to bring a child into the world", the Doctor told the newly delivered mother. “You already have two little mouths to feed. Just let the baby die.” Emotionally drained from all she had experienced during the War, and physically exhausted from the trauma of labor, my Oma agreed. She wrapped up her tiny baby in a thin blanket, placed him in the closet, and shut the door- to die.
(Occupied The Hague, 1940-1945)
After three days of silence from the closet, my Oma finally summoned the mental courage to open the door. Expecting to find her lifeless son, she was amazed to see her baby boy looking up at her, smiling. She took him in her arms and softly whispered, “So, you want to live.”
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Throughout my life, I have thought on my Oma’s words, “So, you want to live.” I strive to be worthy of my family’s incredible sacrifice. I want “to live” each day in gratitude and humility for their strength to overcome devastating odds. I hope “to live” my life in honor of my father through the love and kindness I show to others.
Throughout my life, I have thought on my Oma’s words, “So, you want to live.” I strive to be worthy of my family’s incredible sacrifice. I want “to live” each day in gratitude and humility for their strength to overcome devastating odds. I hope “to live” my life in honor of my father through the love and kindness I show to others.