March 3, 2019
March 3, 2019
For Annemarie,
A little over 30 years ago, I met Annemarie at her house and she warmly greeted me and I immediately felt comfortable around her. I adored that she created a German environment in her home and you could tell she was so proud of her heritage. I had the privilege and honor to go to Germany with her a year later and met her’s and Gunter’s families. She introduced me with such pride and love. The house she grew up in was so quaint and I heard a lot of stories about her growing up there. Her mom, Oma, was such a nice person and welcomed me as though I had been a part of the family forever. Even though she didn’t speak a lick of English and I not a lick of German, somehow we communicated and laughed a lot. Later, Oma sent Annemarie gold coin pendants for me and the girls. You could tell that although her family was poor, she had fond memories of her hometown. When Annemarie was 55, Bridget was born and she was so happy. She was quite intuitive, the day before Bridget was born, I kept squirming and making faces. She said I think you have labor face. I wasn’t sure what that meant until I almost had her at home eight hours later. If you look at the photos I have of her, most of them are the girls in her arms. I can’t express how great of a grandma she was to both Bridget and Cristina. Annemarie never wanted to be called grandma because she never saw herself as old so the girls started called her Mika or Micke. They took Pap’s nickname of Mickey and morphed it into their own. As Cristina got older, Mika and she were very close. So I think Mika leaving us on earth was hardest for Cristina. Cristina would go over to Mika’s a lot and talk for hours about all kinds of things. And of course, I would live it vicariously through Cristina. Mika was at almost every event for the girls, soccer, softball, volleyball, hula, graduations, and wow, oh so many. I couldn’t have picked a better grandma for them if I tried. How lucky they were!
I learned so much from Annemarie. One day I walked into her bedroom and she was cleaning the closet with bleach. I asked her why she used bleach and she said because it’s the best to disinfect and clean with. Ever since then, I clean just about everything I can with bleach. My best friend, Lovett and I noticed she ironed sheets, underwear, and just about everything. She did everything 100%. She was the kindest person too. She went above and beyond for everyone she knew. Sometimes I asked her why do you do so much and she said, “I’m earning my wings into heaven.” Well, she certainly did that!
I will miss Annemarie and I’m glad that she was a large part of my life and more importantly, Bridget and Cristina’s. Her legacy will live on forever with them and our love for her forever in our hearts.
Lots and lots of love, Bridget
A little over 30 years ago, I met Annemarie at her house and she warmly greeted me and I immediately felt comfortable around her. I adored that she created a German environment in her home and you could tell she was so proud of her heritage. I had the privilege and honor to go to Germany with her a year later and met her’s and Gunter’s families. She introduced me with such pride and love. The house she grew up in was so quaint and I heard a lot of stories about her growing up there. Her mom, Oma, was such a nice person and welcomed me as though I had been a part of the family forever. Even though she didn’t speak a lick of English and I not a lick of German, somehow we communicated and laughed a lot. Later, Oma sent Annemarie gold coin pendants for me and the girls. You could tell that although her family was poor, she had fond memories of her hometown. When Annemarie was 55, Bridget was born and she was so happy. She was quite intuitive, the day before Bridget was born, I kept squirming and making faces. She said I think you have labor face. I wasn’t sure what that meant until I almost had her at home eight hours later. If you look at the photos I have of her, most of them are the girls in her arms. I can’t express how great of a grandma she was to both Bridget and Cristina. Annemarie never wanted to be called grandma because she never saw herself as old so the girls started called her Mika or Micke. They took Pap’s nickname of Mickey and morphed it into their own. As Cristina got older, Mika and she were very close. So I think Mika leaving us on earth was hardest for Cristina. Cristina would go over to Mika’s a lot and talk for hours about all kinds of things. And of course, I would live it vicariously through Cristina. Mika was at almost every event for the girls, soccer, softball, volleyball, hula, graduations, and wow, oh so many. I couldn’t have picked a better grandma for them if I tried. How lucky they were!
I learned so much from Annemarie. One day I walked into her bedroom and she was cleaning the closet with bleach. I asked her why she used bleach and she said because it’s the best to disinfect and clean with. Ever since then, I clean just about everything I can with bleach. My best friend, Lovett and I noticed she ironed sheets, underwear, and just about everything. She did everything 100%. She was the kindest person too. She went above and beyond for everyone she knew. Sometimes I asked her why do you do so much and she said, “I’m earning my wings into heaven.” Well, she certainly did that!
I will miss Annemarie and I’m glad that she was a large part of my life and more importantly, Bridget and Cristina’s. Her legacy will live on forever with them and our love for her forever in our hearts.
Lots and lots of love, Bridget