Remembering

My parents grew up in Holland during the 2nd World War. My mother is from a family of nine (she was the only girl, but that is another story). So her family home was quite large. The Germans thought it would be a good base for operations in that town. They told my grandfather that his family would have to move out. All that was available was a large unused chicken coop, without a floor. So one day while the germans were out my grandfather and his many sons went back to the house and took up the floor for the chicken coop. The C.O. came home and said, 'Why did you take the floor from the house.' My grandfather answered, 'I have given you my house, moved my family into a barn that needed a floor. You don't need the floor you only need the roof, you can have that.'
This is only one of the many stories she tells about that time. Many are sad, some are not. My children listen with rapt attention when she speaks of it. It is good to remember.