20 more days left

In 20 days I will have finished my year of writing. I am not sure how I feel about that yet. Right now it is becoming very difficult to write. I have explored just about every subject possible. If there is anything you would like to see a story on now is a good time because I spend an excessive amount of time each day trying to think of stories. It will feel weird when it is all over but I still have 20 more stories to write.

In other news, I found a praying mantis the other day while I was raking my front yard. It was really neat so I took some pictures of it! I hope everyone is having a happy Sunday! 

24 October 2014

The Star, The Symbol

Germany was my home. My mother and father were born there as were my grandparents and great grandparents. We all were German but after World War I we became German Jews. The changes began slowly. People avoiding eye contact, Hitler stating we were to blame for Germany's downfall, our businesses slowly lost customers, we became enemies in our own country. I knew it was time to hide when they chose to mark us. We were ordered to wear a yellow Star of David on the outside of all our clothing whenever we left our homes. Our lifelong homes in our country. It was no longer our country though. At my urging, my parents, my husband, his parents and his brother quietly left our homes. We knew an elderly German woman in a small village. She owned a small barn and had a son in Hitler's army. They were secretly sympathetic to the plight of the Jews and we knew we could trust them.

The first couple of years weren't too difficult. Our host never brought home more food than usual. Her son had stock piled provisions for us and hid them in the barn. For the most part we could be up and move during the day since she didn't live visibly close to another neighbor. When visitors came over we hid in the barn to keep up her rouse. We even helped her hang up pro-Nazi propaganda in her home. Things changed when soldiers came to her home unexpectedly. They wanted to chat with the mother of one of their fellow soldiers, I feel like they were scouting her and checking up on her true allegiance to Nazi Germany. They seemed satisfied with her but we knew that we needed to hide and not be visible during the day anymore. Under the barn was a cellar and with the help of our savior's son we created a small burrow and a hidden wall for us to hide in. We filled the cellar with food and made it look like the elderly woman was saving food because of the war. We spent everyday hiding in the back of the barn near the cellar to get some sunlight. Every night we would go to our burrow and try to sleep. The woman and her son took care of getting rid of any sign that we were there every singe night.

Our true test came when soldiers came by again. We knew to get in our burrow when we heard an owl hoot twice. We pushed our mattresses against the wall to muffle any and all sound. For hours upon hours we sat in utter fear and silence. We could hear muffled voices in the cellar and our legs were growing weak from sitting still for so long but we did not dare move. Eventually we all fell asleep after what had to of been the entire day. We were woken up to someone pushing against our secret door. I gripped my husband's hand, this was it, we were found. The door kept being pushed harder and harder then we heard a whisper.

“It's me. It is okay, they are gone,” whispered the elderly lady.

Our fear and worry melted away as we moved the mattresses to leave our small hiding spot. It was dark outside but at least we could finally stand. The soldiers had checked her home and made sure she was still a good German. They stayed for dinner and left late at night. The woman decided not to let us out or alert us of their leave until the next night for fear that they were watching. When she was sure it was relatively safe. From that day on we did not leave the cellar. As miserable as our tiny surroundings were, it was better than the camps we heard Jews were being sent to. Eventually Germany fell and the second World War was over. We thanked our helpers and left our country for America. We loved Germany. We lived our whole lives in Germany but now we knew our home was where we were safe, where our children could be safe. We survived that long and deadly war thanks to a kindly old woman and her son. Their generosity was dangerous but they saved an entire family and for that I am eternally grateful.

25 October 2014

The Praying Mantis

Today I was nearly attacked by a giant human. She was violently pushing the leaves I was exploring into a pile. She raked over me several times and I tumbled around trying to regain my composure. I finally crawled to the top of a mound of golden leaves when she stopped. She investigated me for a few minutes then began poking me with a stick. She eventually got the stick underneath me and so I held on as tight as I could. She flashed a camera in my face and then set me in a bush. I sat still with my fists ready to smack her if she got closer. She snapped many unwanted photos of me. I never gave her permission but she did not care. She eventually walked away and I was left to find a new home in the bush since she removed all of the leaves on the lawn I was hiding in. I suppose this bush is not so bad. I at least blend in. The leaves covered me but I am green and they are yellow. At least she didn't come back and bother me for more photos. I can peacefully hunt for bugs again in my new home.