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Time Doesn't Stay
November 22, 2011
This Fall I was fortunate enough to take a trip with my family the likes of which we haven’t seen in over 15 years. Mom, Dad, Brother and I traveled to Far Rockaway, New York, to meet for the first time our cousin, Sidney Shlomkowitz. Sidney is 90-years-old and is the last living relative of my great-grandmother Esther's family who survived the Holocaust. He endured the Czestochowa ghetto, then Buchenwald and Dora, before his liberation from Bergen-Belsen.
He moved from DP camps to NYC in 1950, but only my parents had really known him until now, having visited him dozens of times over the last 45 years. Sidney had always been an important part of my life and I was very excited to meet him. We spent several days in Sidney’s company listening to his life stories and just being with family, but whenever there was a break in the conversation, Sidney would pause and say “Let me tell you one thing,” as though he were about to reveal a great secret. This was then followed by the words, “Time doesn’t stay,” or “The Children are the most important.” After hearing these words over and over for week, they really started to sink in. Here is a man who has lived a long, incredible life and, it seems, it has all boiled down to these two impressions in the end.
An hour seemed to take FOR-EH-VER as a child, but it passes in a mere breath today. We all seem to be fighting the battle against time, trying to get too much done every day and sometimes missing the important things. And, while I don’t have children yet, I do know that family is important. Maybe it comes from my dad who has our genealogy traced back to the 1400s, but I’m pretty sure it’s hard to know where you are going until you know where you came from. You don’t need to trace your family back to the War of the Roses; just reconnecting with your siblings or cousins is a good place to start. So as we dive into the holiday season, think about giving your family the gift of time – your time – this year. Sit down and have a conversation with your parents or grandparents. Ask about how they met, or about their parents and how they got to where they are today. And when they start to tell you, listen. You may be surprised by what they have to say.
I’d like to thank you all for your time and support in making this newsletter exactly what you, the readers, want it to be. If you haven’t had a chance to call or write in, there’s no time like the present! We’ve gotten some great feedback in the 10 months we’ve been connecting, and I’m always eager to hear what you have to say. I hope you all have a beautiful holiday season filled with love, laughter and possibilities and I look forward to working with all of you in 2012.
~Emma
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