Nice story of how you met your wife. I think life has a way of bringing souls together that were meant to be together, all necessary for lessons to be
learned...some just better than others.
I've had many moments of synchronicity, if you would..tho I tend to think that word is over used by many. But on to my first story. So I was raised
by my mother, she was divorced, I'd never met my father...long story there. Anyway, she passed when I was 12, she was just 41. I went to live with
family...and I remember my mom had aways said we were 'pennsylvania dutch' and that was all she knew abt the family. I remembered how she wished she
knew more but all the elders were long gone in the family. Fast forward 25 yrs or so and I'm finding that I'm suddenly struck by this desire to
begin researching the family. The internet helped immensley. So I start with very little info and hit my first 'lucky strike'. Within a few months I
have enough information that my aunt who raised me, my moms sister, is excited as well and we decide to travel to Maryland from Michigan and visit a
few of the sights I've uncovered..ie: the home my gf was born in which is a toll house I found and some of the local cemetaries.
Now we just need a place to stay. I pull up the area online and look at hotels listed... I 'randomly' choose one, book us in online and now the fun
begins. We do the 10 hour drive, check in and decide to go to the hotel's kitchen for a late lunch and make some plans. As the server is bringing us
coffee, a woman is cleaning tables and introduces herself as the hotel owner. She asks what brings us into town...blah blah blah...and when we say
family research and she asks the name, she smiles from ear to ear. Her husband is a cousin she tells us and she knows the family history well. And in
fact, there is a family research meeting that very night right there as her husband is the president and would we please come and be their guests...
wow. We're overjoyed. This begins a domino effect of one thing after another.
The hotel I chose randomly off the internet was 1/2 mile from that particular immigrant ancestors property, of which i had no idea. The hotel was
owned by cousins, that lived directly across the street from that property. He introduced us to other family, who all happened to be Amish and they
took us under their wing for the week, showing us one family home after another, and filling our time with stories we'd of never known otherwise. We
had full access to private family burial sites on Amish lands. Each and every one greeted us as if they knew us well...all because we shared an
ancestor. And one call to the tollhouse and we had a private tour during a day it was closed... it was spectacular. Every minute of it. It was the
trip of a lifetime and I truly believe I was placed in this path to find all this out, having a little help and guidence from above.
Now when my kids or grandkids ask, I can certainly tell them much more than we are Pennsylvania Dutch. I can tell them personal stories and show them
landmarks...I can take them to places where family lived long ago..let them walk the land, breathe the air. I can take them to the cemetary, many
cemetaries...and introduce them to our new found Amish family, wonderful people, and let them experience a bit of that.
Something told me that was the hotel to choose... that little voice inside. Thankfully I always listen to it. ~Lu