WINKLER, MB
Relatives at an Ens family gathering this past week reluctantly obliged their 90-year-old matriarch by singing a verse of ‘Holy God, We Praise Thy Name’ in German even though they had already sung the whole darn thing in English.
“I had no clue what was going on,” said 18-year-old grand-daughter Erin. “I had thought we were all done with the hymn-singing when all of a sudden Aunt Helen says, ‘let’s do one in German yet for mother.'”
The song was sung as slowly as possible, which greatly pleased the older generation, but aggravated the youngsters to no end.
“I can’t take it anymore!” shouted Erin, who immediately began texting all her friends when they were halfway through ‘Großer Gott, wir loben dich.’ “I love you Grandma, but this is more mildly-out-of-tune German singing than I can take!”
Undeterred by young Erin’s bad attitude, the rest of the Ens family soldiered on.
“Oba, it wasn’t that bad,” said Aunt Helen. “We started sometime after 12 and were done no later than 12:45. Sure, the vereneki were a little cold, but it was all worth it for mother to hear her favourite song in German just one more time before she passes.”
Aunt Helen then said she was wondering who would carry on the Ens family tradition of singing hymns in German when her generation is no longer here.
“Singing hymns in German?” said Erin. “They’ll be lucky if anyone’s singing hymns at all in twenty years.”
(photo credit: by innocent eyes/CC)