She was born in 1920. This means when she was just 19 and about to embark on her journey as an adult, she had just lived through The Great Depression in a family fighting for enough food to survive. If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, she was now about to spend the next six years experiencing the devastating effects of World War II. As a child hearing her talk about these horrible experiences and the everlasting fear of debt, it always struck me that she had the ability to balance these memories with the good times as well. I remember how her eyes would light up when she described the emotional experience of watching Babe Ruth circle the bases and recognizing the important underdog stories of the actual Cinderella Man, and listening to Sea Biscuit vs. War Admiral on the radio. She taught me so much, but most importantly, life is not fair, but life is good, and out of adversity comes new growth. Be grateful for the good things in life because it will help you get through the bad times. When you make it through challenges, those become memories of accomplishment and survival and help provide strength the next time life is not fair. I will always remember her simply as one of the strongest and most loving people to others that I have ever met, despite her growing up during one of the worst periods in the world in the last 100 years.
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