the peacekeeper & caretaker

The Garcia women are known for being bold, determined, stubborn, and sometimes a little too spicy. my aunt Naomi Lynn Garcia Beall was all of that and then some. a common phrase in my family is “it takes a village”. Naomi was the wise peacekeeper and caretaker of our village.

My family structure has always been a little unique. as part of that, much of my childhood was spent with my aunts and uncles playing additional parental roles in my life. that’s how my village operates.

I’ve always thought of myself as Naomi and Ralph’s “starter child” before Sophia and Chris came along. all of a sudden, this only child had to share my aunts and uncles?! i learned to share once i realized la llorona was never going to come snatch up my cousins, so i was stuck with them. and it helped that Naomi never had a shortage of love to give.

when deliberating some big life decisions she told me, “nothing is fatal, nothing is final, follow your heart”. someone without her wisdom may have just said, “sure why the hell not”. her words always struck so much deeper.

in her final weeks, Naomi mentioned she’d love for us to wear some red at her services. knowing she was particular like me, i tried to call her from the mall this week to ask exactly which shade of red she wanted me to wear. it took me a minute to remember she couldn’t answer that call.

over the last 10 days, i’ve heard so many stories about who Naomi was. stories have poured in from people we’ve never known about how markedly Naomi impacted their lives. my heart aches and my throat tightens up when i hear “was” rather than “is”. Naomi was intelligent, profound, witty, sassy, organized, resourceful, adventurous, well-spoken, tenacious, and compassionate with a boisterous laugh. Naomi still is all of that. she is those traits in each of us. i see it in the way the stories are told and the emotion they carry.

my village has lost it’s wise peacekeeper and caretaker. and it takes the whole village to keep moving forward.