Visiting Oma

Every Friday, Katie and I go to New Jersey to visit my grandmother. I really think Oma looks forward to these visits and Katie is starting to love them too. The past few times we've pulled into the parking lot, Katie says "Ah-mi" - her version of Oma, which coincidentally was her cousin Pete's baby version of Oma too.

In case you don't know the full story of how my very vibrant grandmother ended up in a nursing home, here's the short version. Last November she fell while walking outside on a beautiful and warm autumn day at her senior living facility. She was in the ICU for a while and suffered from a traumatic brain injury. Months of rehab only did so much and we were quite concerned. We'd go visit, but there was little conversation with her and little interaction. It was really distressing until about March when the Oma we knew started to reemerge. I remember thinking one visit around then, Oma, it's so good to see you, I've missed you - even though I had seen her every week.

So Oma is now in a nursing home, but so much more herself and we love seeing that (as opinionated as she sometimes may be). She really loves seeing me and Katie and I'm so happy each time that she's been around to watch Katie grow. Oma and I have had some interesting discussions and she's seen pictures of our adventures. Last Friday was really a turning point for Katie with Oma. It was the first time that she specifically asked for Oma to hold her. She kept reaching her arms up at Oma and I would put her in Oma's lap. I loved it. So did Oma.

Debbie came with her kids on Friday too. Here's a picture of Oma's great-grandchildren (well all but Andrew who lives in Vermont and she's met only once) out on the patio. Pete, as you can tell, is being a 10-year-old and looks less than thrilled to be there.