Auf Wiedersehen, Oma

I have been blessed to have had several grandmother-like figures in my life.  One such person arrived in my life in 1980, and sadly, left us recently on May 3, 2023.  We called her Oma.  She lived next door to me on Danbury Drive for the first eight years that we lived in Arizona and remained a family member ever since.  Clara (Micky) Lovejoy loved me and my family unconditionally for forty-three years.  She spoiled me and my sister from the moment we met her.  She found a special joy in it.  She purchased us Cabbage Patch Kid dolls for Christmas, brought us gigantic baskets and stuffed bunnies for Easter, and always snuck us candy whenever my parents were not looking.

As I think back, she never missed celebrating any of my life’s major milestones.  She was our Friday night babysitter so my parents could participate in a bowling league.  We would eat T.V. dinners and watch M.A.S.H.  Micky would end up falling asleep on the couch (because she had been up since 4:00am as she was the manager of our local Circle K convenience store) before we did, and often wouldn’t remember my parents picking us up.  She attended both my high school and college graduation parties.  She was present at both of my weddings.  We celebrated numerous birthdays and holidays together.  We’d often meet up at our favorite Mexican food restaurant, Valle Luna, because she had a coupon she needed to use. And she welcomed both of my children into the world by being one of their first visitors to the hospital.  She truly was a member of our family although the relationship may have only started with me saying, "Hello, Neighbor".
 
Oma adored my children.  There was such a special sparkle in her eye the moment that she would see them.  She spoiled them, just like she used to spoil me.  Maybe a tad more.  Her inner child was released when she would spend time with my kids.  She would swing with them.  She would race them around the yard on their tricycles.  She would play games with them.  She would continuously push them around the backyard in their wagons well past the point that she should have.  My kids are lucky to have had such an incredible great-grandmother who loved them so deeply. 
 
In the last few years, Micky’s demeanor was not quite as vibrant as it once was.  Nor did she quite remember as much as she once did.  But, she still held a huge place in my family’s heart.  I know that she loved us and she knew that we loved her.  I am fortunate to have expressed this to her before she passed.  And although she may no longer be with us, I know that she will continue to hold a special spark in my heart and memories.
 
Oma, you may have passed on, but your memories will always live on within us. Thank you for loving us, spoiling us, laughing with us, celebrating us, celebrating with us, and everything else in-between. Wherever you are, I know you are in a much better place. I will be forever grateful and thankful that you are my one and only "Oma".