I consider the Opa to this family a dear friend. A new friend, but a good one. He's a friend I haven't had many conversations verbally with, but watching him has shown me more about him than anything he could ever say would.
He is soft spoken with a great love of the sea. The sea is where he has spent a lot of his life, where he once worked as a Sea Policeman.
His greatest love is for his family, a wife and four children, and for his faith. Last month he and his wife celebrated their 50th anniversary. I asked him what his advice for a good marriage was. He looked at me a little confused as if it was simple and said, "Love."
Gerd and Barbel (I so wish I had a picture of her) do a lot for their family. In the short time I've known them, they've done a lot for me. They took me to the Harbor to show me beautiful Hamburg, Barbel makes me feel welcome at church, they take care of the children, Gerd comes over and does yard work with Connie. Although his english is not very strong, he has acted as a much needed translator for the children and me.
This picture below was on a particularly stressful day for me when the Jara and her friend Lucy (who is my worst nightmare) attempted to build a fire on the table, which I didn't notice because I was cleaning up the tea bags they had soaked with water, ripped open and dumped all over the table a few minutes before. Opa noticed and in his quiet, happy way built them a little fire in the yard so they could roast marshmallows.
That's what Opa's are for.
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