This Thursday, November 19, 2015, my grandmother passed away following a downhill battle with Alzheimer’s. In the wake of her passing, I have decided to use her life as a way to all model or modify our lives for the better. Here are some of the best tips I can glean from my grandmother’s life.
Be resourceful: During WWII, my Nona (as we called her) and her siblings (8 in total), barely had any food to eat. There were days that all they had was a single orange and they had to split it amongst one another! This is an extreme example of being resourceful but we can be resourceful by remembering to use and cherish the “things” that we already have.
Put time into your appearance: I am not saying we should care completely about what others think or that we need to spend a ton of time in front of the mirror, but take pride in yourself. During my Nona’s life she only were a dress or a skirt with stockings and loafer shoes. She NEVER wore a pair of pants in her entire life until she entered a nursing home. She may have had her own style of dress influenced by her life growing up in the early 1930’s, but I think it is important to put your best foot forward. From my personal experience, looking good helps you feel good.
Learn a skill you love: During her younger years, my Nona was a seamstress and learned sewing skills as a young child. In addition to that she made the best pasta fagioli in the world.Her domestic skills were her greatest pride and growing up, I found my own love in reading and piano. I think everyone has the ability to be great with at least one thing in their lives.
In addition to these lessons, I will note that my Nona was not only intelligent and gained wisdom during her 91 years on the Earth, but she loved her family the most. If we all learned to love each other regardless of race and regions–the way that my Nona loved her family–there is no doubt that this world would be a better place.
If you have lost someone special in your life, what are the greatest things that you learned from them?
Petite Activist 