Spelling Matters

Or does it?

Today marks the one month anniversary of my Omi's passing.

I had decided to leave town a few hours after Omi passed. Things with the family were getting steamy and I could feel my blood begin to boil. I chose to exit stage right, instead of getting into a knock down - drag out fight with GC.

With two hours of sleep and enough angry adrenaline to keep me awake, I chugged homeward, replaying conversations in my head.

And in my head, I sounded like a genius! I wish I actually sounded that good in real life.

Anyway, I wasn't in town to see if there was a service or not. I knew Omi didn't want one, but that wouldn't have stopped GC who is all drama, drama, drama. I swear he's worse than a teenage girl.

Anywho...

I looked up her obit today. I just wanted to see what it said. I was surprised by a few details.

One, she listed her estranged daughter (my psycho mother) as a survivor. I find that hysertical because dear ol' mom wouldn't even speak to Omi. Hadn't spoken to her in years!.

Secondly, only two of her three grandchildren were listed. They forgot Baby. That made me feel bad. I wonder who left Baby off the list. Did Omi just forget or did GC leave his name off (out of spite because Baby hadn't joined us during the death watch). Regardless, I hope Baby hasn't seen it.

There was the little fact that the obit stated that Omi and Opa were married here in the states. They were actually married in Germany where Opa served with the US Army during the war. The funny thing is my grandparents were actually married THREE times.

Once in front of Opa's army commander (he was marrying a GERMAN after all)

Once in the church (she was Roman Catholic)

And once here in the states because of all the problems Omi had getting a green card. Life for a German wasn't easy regardless of what country you lived in.

Then there is the little issue of her church membership. See, Omi was very private about her beliefs. If you didn't ask, she'd never tell you.

I asked, because I'm nosy that way. Yet, she hadn't told me that she had become a member of that little Baptist church. Even in death, she surprises me.

I wish I could have written her obituary. They missed so many things about her. They didn't post a picture or write about her love of fishing. It was never mentioned that she met my Grandpa S through a newspaper ad. There were so many things about her that were funny. Like when she learned that I was going to marry Beloved and she advised me to test "things" out. She said that men were like shoes and that you needed to find the right fit.

I blushed to the roots of my hair, I assure you!

Of course the last thing I noted in her very sparce obit, was the fact that they spelled my name wrong.

Sigh

Somethings never change.