This title is in dedication to my Oma, Neeltje Jacoba Van Leeuwen Jansen, who passed away 6 years ago today, on March 25, 2001. It’s funny–the spring flowers seem to have just popped up this past week, and when I saw the purple ones blooming, it made me think of this silly t-shirt that she used to wear. It was bright purple, and had “When I am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple” written across the front in white lettering. It made all of us laugh, but she got such a kick out of it…
Oma, whose middle name Jacoba I have inherited, meant so much to me. She lived in my neighborhood for most of my life, which enriched my childhood memories immensely. Flowers were one of her favorite things–there was never a time that her garden wasn’t blooming with some daffodil, pansy, or tulip. Tulips, of course, are a huge part of Holland culture, and when she came on the boat to America at age 12, it seems that she brought that love with her to California, then DC, then Silver Spring, then Gaithersburg. More than anything, I appreciated the testimony of her trust in the Lord while fighting colon cancer for 2 years. One of the last things she ever said to me was, “Emily, just trust the Lord.” Her simple, yet profound statement has crossed my mind time and time again these last 6 years, as I have faced my own difficult trials.
I can imagine what she would have done on such a beautiful Spring day like this. She would wake up, go to church, socialize with all her Christian Reformed Church (CRC) members, come home, throw on a comfortable outfit, and tend to her garden. She might putz around the yard, pulling up a weed or two from her flowers beds. After that, she might have rested for a bit, soaking in the warm rays of sunshine on her back patio. If she wanted a snack, she would have poured herself a glass of cranberry juice mixed with ginger ale, and munched on some Leiden Dutch cheese and Wheat-Thins. If she called us to come over, I probably would have walked the quarter-mile, through the park that backed up to her house, and met her out in the back yard. If it got late, she would have asked me to stay for dinner, and we just might have even played a competitive game of Scrabble, cheating and all. Oh, yes. Picking your letters was never a one-time “once and done.” We all reached in the bag for a ‘re-draw’ at one point or another. =) Ahh, yes. Sweet memories…
I am thankful for her life, today. I am thankful for spring weather and pretty flowers. I am thankful for a silly T-shirt with that the ridiculous phrase written on it. Perhaps, when I myself am an old woman, I shall wear purple. =)