roots and wings

Wow - what a day! Jen and I had a leisurely morning and then took the tram downtown to have Swiss sausages for lunch (in paper with a side of crazy hot dijon mustard and a hardish circle roll, bizarre that people don't eat them as a sandwich but I must do it as the locals do it and so - viola! PS - this is one of my favorite french sayings and I love it for its many uses and true meaning) We popped in and out of stores and churches and had coffee and chocolate by the river. Just before 4 pm, I hopped on the train for 4 minutes and got out in front of Doris Waeber's home. Apparently, we had gotten our wires crossed and she was expecting someone else - this was a bit awkward for the first 10 minutes or so as I stood there trying to explain who I was and how we are related. I loved being about to say I am Gary Waeber's granddaughter - it is has been way to long since I have identified myself that way and it was awesome. She had prepared quite the spread and so after giving me the tour of her place which is adorable and in such a great location, we sat down for tea and treats and to get to know each other. Tea was served on a tea cart. She was wearing red heels and was so sweet. It made me sad for a moment at how much has been lost between her generation (she is 91!) and mine. Doris then gave me the most amazing gift without even knowing it. She pulled out a photo album with Pop-pop's visit to Zurich in 1991 before he got sick and showed me photos that I had never seen before of him so happy and tan and standing in beautiful places in Switzerland. She then showed me this document that was produced by a historian and dates back to 1511 of our most distant relative and include the information on my grandfather, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents and so on! I could not believe my luck. What a treasure all of this was. And so Doris and I sat on the floor, pouring over these documents and photos and she told me stories that I didn't know about my people and all that they survived and I felt amazed and that I could actually see roots growing beneath the very ground that I was standing on. My great grandfather was a jumper and survived the great SF earthquake in his pajamas. He lost everything he had overnight in the Great Depression - his brother Fritz was Doris' father-in-law or something very close to that. We chatted and ate for hours. She skypes and has a mac - so we exchanged email addresses and plan to keep in touch. This was such a bonus to what I was expecting to get out of this trip and I am feeling so thankful that everything came together as beautifully and completely as it did. What a day!