Ancestors

"Mom, what are ancestors?" Rachel asked at dinner tonight.
"Ancestors are the people who came before us," I said.
"Tell me about our ancestors," she said.

I knew this talk was coming, so I gave an abbreviated version of Mom and Dad's time in Belgium during the war. I started with Grandpa's side of the family and told Rachel her great-grandparents were Chaika and Chaim, and told the story of how they fled Antwerp with two suitcases and two rucksacks and the boys to escape the Nazis, and ended up traveling all over before they finally got to America.

"Wow, that seems like really fun -- traveling all over the world!" Rachel said. "I would have liked to do that. What other ancestors?"

I explained to her that Grandpa's trip wasn't exactly fun, but that's how he remembers a lot of it. Then I told her about Grandma's parents, explaining the concept of concentration camps. "How did they die?" she said, and I tried to give her just enough basic information so as not to upset her.

She seemed fine with it all, but I hated to have that conversation.

The talk then turned to Daddy's side of the family, and we had a discussion about Luke Drury, and the powderhorn, and how I suggested that her middle name be Drury. "So your real name is Rachel Drury DeSilver," I concluded.

"I love my name!' Rachel exclaimed.

(We never did get to the Founding of the ACLU part of the family history; maybe another time).