Oma, it has been two years since you left us, but I still remember December 17, 2021, so clearly. That day, I tried to hold back my tears at work. Before our meeting ended, my counterpart—our client—took a moment to thank me for all the work I had done. Then, in a kind and unexpected gesture, he added:
“Take some time off from work. I know we’re from different companies, but you can tell me when you need a break from work or if you have private matters to attend to. I’ll totally understand. Our work is important, but our life outside work is more important.”
His words touched me deeply. I wanted to grieve, but I knew you wouldn’t have wanted me to put my life on hold. You never wanted to be an inconvenience, not even in death. That’s why I returned to work the week after you passed, to my client’s surprise. In his culture, people might take weeks off to mourn, but I knew you would have told me to carry on.
You made it clear that when your soul could no longer stay in your ailing body, you wished to be cremated. We honored your wish the very next day. But your burial had to wait four weeks—because in Germany, everything runs on Termine (appointments). The cemetery where your ashes now rest did not allow burials on weekends, so we had to wait until the 14th of January 2022.
Oma, two years have passed, but I still miss you. I hope you are at peace, wherever you are now. Thank you for everything.
I wish you had met Isabella. She looks so much like you, with her curly hair. You were waiting for my husband and me to have a child, but life kept getting in the way—work, building our home, always postponing it. Then cancer came, and the chemo took more from you than it gave. COVID kept us apart, leaving you to suffer alone in the hospital. We had to say our goodbyes the day before you passed because that entire week you had already stopped accepting food and water. Your body could take no more.
It was a heartbreaking end, but I know you are free from pain now. Rest well, Oma. You are loved and missed, today and always.
🙏🌹
