Ferdone’s museum

After a short morning meeting we went to a lady’s house in the town. In the war her husband and all 4 of her children were murdered. Only 2 sons’ bodies have yet been found (the youngest and the oldest). She has no one left. She has turned her home into a museum of war information, photos of her family and displays the clothes the 2 bodies were found in. Naturally, she is a very sad woman and said her life gets worse as the years go on, not better. It was hard to find any words of comfort and it was a very emotional visit. Widows are not expected to marry again, it would be frowned upon; you belong to your husband’s family. Her 2 older sons had both been married for 1 year when they were killed and she could have insisted her daughters-in-law stayed with her for life but she did a kind thing and released them. They both remarried a few years later and live in Switzerland and Germany; she cried when she told us. I guess she knew what her life would be like and set them free from that. Ferdone gave us a copy of her story and a poem
26/5 12noon Alison