A Dream Come True

I finally met her!

Since writing about my neighbor on June 14, I've been working too late to see her on her porch when I go for walks. I gave up on the idea of actually chatting with her instead of just smiling and saying hello.

But yesterday, I came home early and saw her coming outside. As soon as we exchanged complete sentences, she noticed my accent and asked where I was from. Before I knew it, I was going in through the gate and she was asking if I wouldn't be bored talking to someone her age. Bored? Are you kidding? I've been dying to meet people in Neufahrn and I had a feeling somehow that she'd be a good one to talk to. Was I ever right.

Frau Martini grew up a farmer's daughter several hours away. She and her two older sisters spent their whole adult lives in Munich; her brother was killed in World War II, fighting for the Nazis. (Hearing that reminded me of a memorial in Neufahrn to fallen WWII soldiers. I've learned about the enormous burden of guilt that Germany has carried the past several decades. But I'd never thought about how they'd remember fallen soldiers. What a bitter sorrow, knowing your loved one's life was lost in the name of Adolf Hitler!) She described shopping at the butcher's and baker's years ago in her job as a school cook in downtown Munich. Only in recent years has she moved here to Neufahrn, next door to her only child and three grandchildren.

We made a good pair. Neither of us had anywhere to be, so an hour and a half went by before I left to make dinner. And we both appreciate a slower-paced conversation - I due to my lacking German skills, and she because breathing is somewhat laborious. Frau Martini has had several surgeries to combat her cancer, but at this point, she's nearly done fighting. I was amazed by her sense of peace - she says she has no fear of death - and thankfulness for the full life she's led in her eighty-odd years. We talked a lot about our mutual faith and the assurance that God's plan is a good one.

I'm leaving Neufahrn on Monday to spend most of July downtown for my German course. (I'm excited to meet my new hostess, Frau Dorothea Rogall.) Hopefully Frau Martini and I can chat more when I return to Neufahrn for my last few weeks. In the meantime, I'm hoping to bring her some cookies this afternoon. Our conversation inspired me, and I'd love a repeat or two in my limited time here.