Words of Wisdom from my Oma

My grandmother grew up in Austria during WWII. She now lives at an independent senior living facility that has been locked down since March.

Earlier this month, I was home in Rangeley celebrating Oma’s 90th birthday. We stayed outside and were all COVID tested to ensure we wouldn’t pass anything to her.

Oma jokes about ‘checkpoint charlie’ and his unwillingness to even let the UPS man through for deliveries.

She hasn’t seen most of her family since the lockdown.

I said to her, ‘Oma, this must be so hard. You must be so lonely.’

She said to me in her thick Austrian accent…

“Paige, this is not hard.

Hard is walking down the street and jumping in the ditch when an enemy truck approaches so they don’t shoot you.

This is not hard.

Hard is having your father away at war and not knowing if he is dead or alive or if he will find a way to return to your family.

This is not hard.

Hard is hearing the air raid sound and going to your basement and being worried if the rest of your family is okay when you come up.

This is not hard.

Hard is waiting for spring to come so that you have some food to eat.

This is not hard.” – Sonja Schaetzle

When I asked her how this experience impacted her life, she told me simply, “I have the patience to wait.”

I am so thankful for this perspective shift and I hope you are too. This stuff is not hard and I think we all (myself included) could benefit from a little more ‘patience to wait.’

Lots of love,
Paige

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Paige Wilcox

About Paige Wilcox

This blog, Inspire Healthy Living is focused on actionable strategies for healthy living that are going to make a major impact on your life. I will be working with our trainer team to cover a broad range of health and fitness topics that can be easily integrated into your daily life. At Wilcox Wellness & Fitness, we are passionate about helping people live their very best life and we believe that the foundation for your best life starts with a commitment to healthy living.