Sunday, October 18, 2020
My mother asked me to share my thoughts of Oma from her funeral service on here for those who were unable to attend. Here is my memory of my beloved Oma.
Gummibaerchen, a Billy Bee glass, club soda, and hugs. These were some of the delicacies waiting for my sister and I at the end of our long journeys from Canfield to Niagara.
Upon entering the house we smelt “Oma” well before we saw her. A soap and baking combination that was distinctly her’s. That smell signalled comfort, love, and attention. On the drives back to Canfield that smell would linger, as if a bit of her was stowing away with us.
Next to envelop our senses, well before any physical embrace, was her voice. No matter where she was in the house, her voice carried all the way to our ears. The neighbours didn’t need to look out the window to see that the van Ravenswaays were visiting the Neumanns. They could hear loud and clear.
When Oma finally got a hold of you that is when you felt what paradise must be like. Oma in surround-sound. All the warmth, love, and joy to see her grandchildren coming out in a snuggle.
When greetings were finally fulfilled, then eating would begin. My top three of Oma’s greatest hits of sauerklopse, apfelklose, and kringel were only a small sample of her fine dishes and baked treats. Each and every one of them requiring adequate veneration in the form of at least a second helping. My preferred method of honoring Oma’s food was to eat until I needed to roll down stairs and digest on a couch in the basement. Only then could I be satisfied that her food got the respect it deserved. If there were any leftovers, then a Cool-Whip container filled with them would make the journey home for our father.
Now, we will never encounter these comforts of our Oma again, but it was through all of these experiences that she hid away a bit of herself in each of us. We carry on her legacy by loving our loved one’s with the zeal and purity that she showed us. In every call to our friends and family, in every meal we make, and in every hug we give there is some of Oma being passed on.
Thank you Oma for this gift. We love you.
