The Old Farmhouse Window
A special thanks to Julie for sharing this sweet story! ~ Liz
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My story starts with my mom. You could say that she inspired me to always be your best, be strong, and that family is always first.
Julie’s mom says “Don’t put this photo on the internet!” (She was joking!)
She tells me of stories of when she was a little girl growing up in a small town called Dunapentele. She lived through a war, a depression, and a revolution. But she also tells me of grand weddings that lasted for days with lots of great food, home baking, wine and dancing. Good days. Her heart will always be in Hungary. An idea came to me…her birthday was coming up and I had no idea what I could get her to make her feel special.
I thought for a long time, and there in the root cellar one day I see this old window and I’m thinking…this was from the old farmhouse we used to live in as a family…she treasured this farmhouse and all the memories it held. I had a window like this made before for myself, and I had to do something with it for her. That’s when I reached out to the community on the Facebook page called Hungarian Pride. I had seen this poem, but I didn’t know the name of it or how the words went, but it rang deep within me because it showed the way my mom feels about Hungary.
[Here is a link to the poem Magyar vagyok by Pósa Lajos]
Julie’s mom with the finished window! She loves it!
It was a rather large window with 3 panes, and the words would only cover 2 panes. So I researched some Hungarian pictures and I saw these lovely flowers and I knew my mom loved flowers.
I approached a friend of mine that does the vinyl printing and I asked if she knew anyone that could paint a picture also. And she said she did…her daughter. I was so happy, I told her my idea and she said that she would do it for me.
I sanded the frame and prepared it for her to be able to do the poem and painting and when it was done I was amazed! It looked beautiful! I loved it! I wish I could’ve found my friend a nice Hungarian wine to thank her and her daughter.
On my mother’s 85th birthday she received the window with the poem and flowers on it, and she stood staring at it reading it over, and over, understanding and often nodding when she was in agreement with the words that it said. And that made me almost cry. I also told her that I had this window in my cellar for the last 20 years or more and that it was time to do something with it. She couldn’t believe that I still had it. It finally had a purpose and it was to fill my mom’s heart with memories of the past.
This project was more of a community project because everyone played a part. It is with deep gratitude that I thank each and everyone that contributed to this wonderful gift. I want to say a special thank you to Nicola Hales and her daughter Emma Roberts. You both truly did an amazing job. Mom says that this pandemic is by far the worst thing that she has ever gone through because you can’t see the enemy. She remains healthy to this day, and I hope and pray that she does. This showed me how we all can be kind and caring to each other when times are so uncertain. Isten áldjon meg! (God Bless You)
Julie’s mom and aunt admiring the window!
Click here for a sweet version of this poem sung by the Kovács family. Enjoy!