Ultimate Blog Challenge - How I think my grandparents met

Welcome back! It's Day 28 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. today's prompt doesn't spark my interest. We're supposed to 

Reprint an article

that we pick on this website. 

Instead I went on a different website and chose a writing prompt:

Describe how you think your grandparents met

Ha, that would actually be so interesting to have witnessed. I can see a black and white documentary coming up!

Here's what I actually know:

Around 1919, my Grandpa's (who was just a toddler) family arrived in Austria as fugitives from Russian progroms only to get away to Palestine some 15 years later. He fought for the British Army in the Arab Revolt. 

He contributed to the first steps the newly founded state of Israel took. 

My Grandma was born in Germany, and her Dad had the great foresight to leave the country as national socialism was spreading rapidly in the mid-1930s. She was the youngest of three siblings, and when they arrived in what was later going to be Israel, they had nothing. They lived in tents and worked hard in agriculture.

This is her. The baby on her lap is me, her favorite - and only - granddaughter. We share the same birthday and had a very close relationship, especially growing up. 

They met, got married, I wanna say around 1945, and had two kids. One of them is my mom - the little girl in the picture. Five years later they also welcomed a boy, who is my uncle.  

My Granddad worked three jobs to provide for his family. 

I like to think that my Grandparents and their generation contributed a great deal to the creation of this unique country, and it bugs me that the current generation kind of takes everything for granted.

My Granddad had the opportunity to finally finish his studies, and upon graduating, he got a job offer in neutral Switzerland, and he didn't look back.  Stability, security, political freedom, what more do you want with a personal history like his? 

My Mom was less happy to leave her friends behind and start over with very limited language skills. Her plan was to meet a nice Israeli and go back ASAP. But you know what they say about the best laid plans... and so she ended up with my very Swiss Dad.

While Grandpa was pretty opiniated about certain things (my brother's leaving Switzerland in order to become an Israeli was certainly not his idea of a smart decision, and my wanting to become a career counselor was dismissed with a quick "breadless perspectives", go work for a bank") Grandma supported us in all of our decisions. 

She may never have graduated from school but she knew that life was going to teach us the most valuable lessons - and that she was gonna be there for us no matter what.

They passed away in 2007, aged 90 (Grandpa) and 2019, aged 99 (Grandma). They are greatly missed. 

So how do I think they met? They must have been around 18 and 15 or so. 

It's probably best to prodceed using the exlusion procedure:

• Not at the disco
• Not on the internet
• Not on vacation 
• Not at a fancy party

Cause they had nothing of that nature.

Since they were living in a small community, I would assume all young people knew each other, either from work or "just around". I also assume that folks who had the same mother tongue stuck together, as it is still the case as a new immigrant pretty much anywhere in the world.

I imagine my Granddad was a smart and rather serious and reliable young man who treated girls with respect, which my sweet and shy Grandma appreciated. She was a good listener and very intuitive and understanding. He must have felt "at home" when he was with her. 

If he had access to food (they were malnourished at times) I like to think that he slipped her a little something whenever he could, and they shared what little they had. I'm not sure if postal services worked during Granddad's military service. If it did, I'm sure Grandma wrote nice long letters keeping him up do date. She always liked to write, and I inherited her love for it.

I'm sure Grandpa was very protective of Grandma when she was pregnant, and he wouldn't let her lift heavy things or do anything strenuous. He most certainly built and furnished the nursery way in advance. He always taught me to leave early, don't take the bus that arrives at 7:55 if you need to be there at 8. Take the bus that arrives at 7:40. Take a walk and arrive relaxed.

He had many "wisdoms" he instilled in us. Many were about safety, financial stability and health. When I would visit them in my mid 20s - I had a job nearby and would occasionally drop in unannounced for dinner - he always reminded me to take vitamin supplements. He told me about free radicals and other things. Grandpa would approve of my consuming Juice Plus.

Aw, they were such good people. I'm glad they met even if I don't exactly know how it happened. 

Do you have any specifics about your Grandparents?