Apparently construction on the Berlin Wall began 50 years ago today.
I can't begin to express how grateful I am that it's gone.
Several years ago - a few months after we married, in fact - the Slovak and I took a quick trip to Berlin. We didn't have much time there, but we made it to Checkpoint Charlie. (Right next to which, by the way, was a Czech cultural center called "Czech Point Charlie". I still can't quite believe that...)
We stood on the west side. We stood on the east side. We stood in the middle and hugged. If either of us could do a cartwheel across it, we possibly would have.
I imagined a wall standing between us, keeping each of us from crossing over to the other. If it were still here, I would cross it, if I could. My Slovak is worth it. But we would almost certainly never have met, and we would be worse off for it.
How terribly, terribly glad I am there is no wall between us today.
I am also glad that it's not there anymore! I remember standing at the wall when it was still guarded by the Russians and then being able to touch it when it came down. I had no idea then that I would be living on this side of that wall married to a person from the east!
ReplyDeleteHey I can really relate to that too. How often have my hubby and I reflected on how different our lives would be if the wall hadn't come down - we too would never have met, as he's from East Germany. Neither of us would be living where we are now, and our children wouldn't exist!
ReplyDeleteBut here's another take on the Wall. My mother-in-law (who hadn't yet met my father-in-law) was planning to move to the West on 12th August 1961. She changed her mind at the last minute, I think because somebody in the family came down ill. So while I'm glad the wall came down, at the same time, if it hadn't gone up in the first place, my hubby would never have been born.... How's that for a spooky twist of fate?