Your favorite Chicago area child and family photographer is having a little contest over on the Marmalade Photography Facebook page, follow the link after the story.
The contest: share a photo and a story, like my page, share on your wall and tag us! Easy peasy!!
The story of my photo:
The time: March 1970
The place: Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
The players: My mom, dad, four siblings, my great aunt and uncle
It is late March in 1970 and this is the day my mom and dad emigrated from Poland with little more than the clothes on their backs and with two of my siblings. They are reunited with my other brother and sister who had been living here in the States since 1963. SEVEN YEARS APART! My oldest brother Adam (pictured) came to the U.S. with my sister when they were 15 & 11 (respectively). 7 years have passed and both of he and the youngest of my two sisters are adults. My mom had been fighting for the past 7 years to get to America to be with her children.
The photo I am showcasing is taken mere moments and is one of my family’s most memorable family moments in our history. This image was taken just after their reunion and arrival to the U.S. and it is of my oldest brother Adam and my mom. The joyous looks on their faces, the way my mom is clutching her chest, she looks overwhelmed and my brother looks happy. There is nothing not to love about this historic family moment, this is the story of my family.
What you don’t see in any of this story is me. I’m here in this photo but not visible yet. My mom didn’t know it yet but she was a month pregnant with me when they arrived in the U.S. “Made in Poland, born in the U.S.A.” I’ve joked for years. But it’s true!
I am here because of the tenacity of the woman in this photo. This strong woman lived through the horrors of World War II only to battle with the Polish government to get passports and exit Visas out of Poland for SEVEN LONG YEARS so she could be reunited with my brother and sister. She allowed them to come to the U.S. in hopes that they would have a richer, more colorful and prosperous life here. It is my parent’s strength and resilience that I have always admired, the bravery to leave the country they knew for 40-50 years (my dad was 8 years older) of their lives to start a new life and be reunited with their kids. Unbelievable courage, undeniable strength, relentless tenacity. The ingredients for an American family tale.
REUNITED!
©unknown photographer 1970
Follow this link to go to the Marmalade Photography page and follow the directions to enter the contest.
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