Personal Notes:
Tonight we had a dinner at my father's place. Dinner was splendid. Mira served deer veals and gulash, tenderloin veals, marinated mushrooms, Polish salads, patatoes, and fine tableware, candles made for good athmosphere among Ji, Kareem, my father, Mira, Maja, Kinga and Jacek (Konrad was watching Super-Bowl at friend's).
We anonunced our engagement which was welcomed, the chat at the table was generally good until it came down to the fact that I changed my name. That upset my father a lot, which was expected of him, I am so sorry it upset him, he does not deserve this, I still believe that my decision was right to change the name, but nevertheless I feel sorry he was hurt. I wish that he will remember what I said that the blood is more important than the name. I know this does not help much.

I want to start my new family in the new country with my new citizenship. I want my name to serve as a name that people can pronounce, not butcher every single time. I want my name not to be as unreadable as a bar-code. I want to give myself, my wife, and my children a better chance without an immediate stigma associated to them because of having a foreign, strange and uncomprehensible name. I knew that it will come at the prize of hurt family, but I think my greater responsibility is to the future, then to the past generations.

Eventualy, conversation by the table turned around and father seemed happy again, but I know it will hunt him for years.

Later, we decided with Ji that if we have a boy we will give him the middle name Grzeszkowiak to memorate the family roots.