Bernse,
I’m saying prayers for your Oma right now.
((((((hugs & well-wishes)))))))
(I lost my Oma about 9 months ago…very hard.)
Our thoughts are with you, Bernse. I wish you all peace.
Bernse,
Ich werde fuer deine Oma beten.
I lost my maternal grandmother recently. She raised three children by herself in war-torn Germany. Her husband was in the Waffen SS, but was shot on the Eastern front for not following orders. The town my Oma lived in was in the soviet occupied zone (Hildburghausen in Thueringen to be exact) and for a while my Oma survived by smuggling things across the border, and even ended up being shot at (but luckily they missed). She then moved to the American zone and was able to gradually smuggle the kids across the border also. All three grew up just fine. My Oma lived to the ripe old age of 92, and to the very end she was cooking and cleaning on her own. In fact, she died due to a stroke she suffered while walking to the bakery to pick up some things.
My Oma had some very interesting stories to tell to say the least. Also, reading through the old letters from her husband written during the German invasion of Russia was absolutely fascinating. The saddest part is that a lot of good Germans were killed during that war (along with a lot of really nasty ones also), but things were really hard for the survivors also. My Oma was raped by Russian soldiers, for one thing. It’s a good thing she had buried all the pictures of her husband in the yard, or she would have been shot on the spot for being married to an SS officer.
All of this just makes me miss my Oma, and appreciate my other Oma (who is 89 now) even more. Oh, and I hope the Rolladen and Linsensuppe turned out great. Did you make your own Spaetzle to go along with that? Also, the Linsensuppe tastes even better if you add just a wee bit of vinegar when it’s almost done.
My thoughts are with you bernse.
I am in a similar situation, though it is with my mother rather than my grandmother. Being middle-aged, all of my grandparents have long left this earth.
Too late, I’m now trying to collect the family stories and document the family tree. It is difficult. If only I’d have attempted this task earlier in my life.
I pray that our loved ones are taken quietly and quickly. A long life, lived well, deserves that.
For those who have grand (or great, etc.) parents still about (or older aunts/uncles/cousins): TAPE THEM! Hide a recorder in your pocket, if you need to. Turn the recorder on, challenge them to a game of cards or whatever you need to do to get them talking. Have them talk about anything and everything that comes to mind. While it won’t erase the loss you’ll feel when they’re gone, it will at least preserve their voice, and importantly, the history they know.
<< Foo. >>
Oma so lieb,
Oma so nett,
Ach, wenn ich dich, meine Oma nicht haett…
All of my grandparents are gone, the last one just last year: my maternal grandmother in Germany.
In a poetry class two years ago, I wrote a poem for my paternal grandmother, who died back in '89. I thought it would be appropriate to write one for my maternal grandmother, too.
I tried. God knows I tried. But I simply didn’t have enough material; I didn’t know her well enough to have anything to write about. Haven’t cried like that in awhile.
bernse, your advice is some of the soundest I’ve seen here. May God go with you and yours.
Wer’s auf der Welt,
so traurig und leer,
denn meine Oma wie dich gibst nicht mehr!
At 7:50AM Mountain time, she passed on.
I find comfort that I believe she is with her husband for the first time in 34 years and the pain is over.
God, I miss her though 
my deepest sympathies bernse
Bernse,
I’m so very sorry…the memories will comfort you.
(((hugs))))
Plavacek
My Oma and I used to sing that song together when I was a little girl. **crying now
She was the best lady EVER.
What wonderful memories. Oma so lieb.
i’m sorry bernse. may her memory be eternal.