Hazelnut Reflections

Happy 4th of July

A quiet holiday for us--it seems to be raining--if it lets up, we'll be off to some fireworks with friends from Husband's congregation here shortly.

An odd way of celebrating the 4th--doing a little genealogy research. On my father's side, it's a little tough to research--his side of the family are post WWII immigrants, and the ancestry is lost in the murkiness of any genealogy research involving Jewish communities in the German speaking lands of Moravia, Bohemia, Austria.

A couple of days ago, a woman responded to an entry I left a while back on a genealogy research board. We've corresponded briefly, and her last email led me to a site with records from the Nazi death camps.

So I've been looking at two possible entries for women who died in Terezin/Theresienstadt, who could be my great-grandmother. I've always known she died there, but to see it on the computer screen is sobering.

So I am grateful for the blessings of living in a country that celebrates independence and freedom; it often falls short of the promise, and it's a constant struggle, but I will gladly watch the fireworks and hum along with the marches that the OKC Symphony will play.

(Although, it's been so dry, I can live with it if it just pours, too).

posted by Emily @ 5:14 PM