Nos ponemos a recordar todas las memorias que queremos capturar
Queriendo agradecer
Lo que en la vida nos ayudaste a ver
Con tu inspiracion y los valores que aprendimos
Inclusive hoy continuamos a crecer
Y a pesar de que lejos de ti vivimos
Sentimos la conexion dentro de nuestro corazon
Tu vida de inspiracion
No sabes cuanto respetamos y admiramos
Nuestra omi y amiga
La mas maravillosa que alguien podria desear en la vida
Guiaste nuestro camino
Con palabras de amor y sabiduria
Momentos de la memoria
Anotamos aqui para celebrar este dia
La llavecita de oro,
abrio la puerta de nuestra imaginacion
Aprendiendo honestidad
con una simple palabra de honor
Desarollando la creatividad
Con figuritas de miga de pan
Locuras sanas
Cancion de cuna, “Haya-Haya”
Noches de trasnochada
Rogando por una historia alargada
Disfrutando momentos de familia
Y desarrollando valores de la vida
Desde el primer momento
Siempre estuviste ahi
Brindandonos amor y apoyo
No hay palabras para expresar
Todas las gracias que te queremos dar
Y todo lo que por nosotras hiciste
Jamas podremos olvidar
The Golden Key Diaries (Sept. 1, 2001)
Don’t know if this is
the hit of inspiration that I was waiting for to get my book started.
The goal will be to capture the stories of my life, the unique ones I
love to tell everyone over and over again in an interesting set of short stories
of tying together my life’s adventures. My
first stab at writing, so let’s see. This
is not to publish. It is more like
a journal to cherish within generations of the family, as it is often the
stories that are forgotten when our frail bodies have faded and this way the
cherished memories of my life and those dear to me can be treasured for
generations to come.
So here is the first of
these stories in it’s roughest draft form, dedicated to the most wonderful Omi
anyone could ever have.
Golden and small, always
close to my heart, the charm dangles from the delicate chain.
This little golden key has inspired my imagination and taught me to
dream. The best gift that my Omi
(grandmother) could ever have given me, and I in turn hope to pass on to my own
family. When I close my eyes and feel the edges between my finger pads, I am
transported to the days and nights I spent at my grandparent’s house as a
child begging to hear more of the surprising tales that my Omi wove together
from the depths of her imagination. We
would anxiously await Opi’s bedtime, so that Omi could settle in and fill our
evening with enthralling stories of the little magic key.
A child, poor of material
goods, but rich with imagination, wove together stories to entertain other
children in the Jewish boarding school. They
were separated from their families as immigrant parents struggled to make ends
meet in this strange new land called Bolivia.
When she had a family of her own, the stories continued to provide an
escape from reality, inspiring us to dream and fashion tales of what we wanted
to do or become.
I remember Omi telling me
that when she was young, she received just enough money a week to buy an ice
cream cone on the day off from school. Think
of a child going off to explore the city with a few coins in hand, seeing a
beggar more misfortunate than her and handing over the prized allowance.
How many children would give up a sweet ice cream treat so that someone
else would have a piece of bread to eat?
As years of wisdom and
trial came about, the imagination of a child starving for love created a legacy
of wonderful stories that would inspire her grandchildren and hopefully
generations to come.
It always started with
“Encontramos una llavecita de oro……”
(we found a little golden key). This
key was not an ordinary key, but one with magic powers to open walls and enter
the worlds of our dreams. As
young children, walls would crumble when the sun-toned teeth met the cement,
giving way to parties, toys, clowns, and amazing treats.
As teenage years went by, golden key dreams transformed into a world of
dances and boys. When walls now
disintegrated, this is what brought us entertainment and joy.
The moment the story would end for the night, all six grandchildren would
put up a fight, begging for more. Sometimes
it worked and sometimes it did not. What made the stories wonderful was that we could always
participate and interact. Questions
asked along the way determined the twists and bends of the plot.
Concluding in suspense so that we would have to wait a whole day or more
to see how that particular story would end.
One of the reasons I
loved to spend the night at Omi and Opi’s house were those wonderful stories
and the shower of love we received amidst the haven of peace and calm.
The stories of the key
will continue to inspire me. Here
it is my turn to be in a land far away where it looks like I’ll stay.
When I close my eyes or feel the weight of the golden key charm around my
neck I think of my Omi, one of the people I admire the most in this world.
And even though I am far away, her lessons are in my heart to stay.
As I mature, the stories and wisdom I have learned continue to help me
grow. The golden key stories have
given my imagination wings and form to my dreams.
by Lizzie Gelernter