Grandma Radmila Panović from the village of Ponikve near Užice this September blew out the candles with a three-digit number on the cake, celebrating her big 100th birthday with her closest family. She greeted the jubilee that few people experience with a warm look and a gentle smile.
Her life is so rich that, as her loved ones say, it could fit into at least ten novels. Despite her age and weak legs, Grandma Radmila today, surrounded by her family, nurtures a cheerful spirit and wisdom that she is happy to share with everyone.
Surrounded by her descendants, the grandma blew out the hundredth candle, recalling a life full of trials, but also honest work.
-Knitting was my favorite hobby. It kept me from feeling lonely. They bought me wool, so I knitted so much that I could fill a trailer with socks, the grandma said with a smile for RINA.
Her life story was not easy, but each decade was a special lesson full of challenges.
-I suffered a lot. There was neither a property nor livestock sometimes. I supported two sons and what I suffered, I do not regret it, the grandma says through her memories –
Work, she says, is what keeps a person alive and is her advice for longevity.
-Keep working, just do not give up. You talk to yourself and you know you’re alive, that you eat better and everything. I’m grumbling now, but there is no life like when I was younger – she admits.
During the bombing in 1999, she did not leave her home, and she also remembers the images of the Second World War.
Although Grandma Radmila does not have a day of school, her wisdom and clear mind have left a mark on her descendants.
-She taught me to be an honest person, not to steal and to walk the right path, like my grandfather Mihajlo. The grandma advised me not to hate each other, that no one should hate anyone – says Grandma Radmila’s grandson.
The family also owes a great deal of gratitude to the medical workers who regularly visit the grandma. The celebration of her 100th birthday was modest, just as she wanted – with those who are with her every day.
In the end, Grandma Radmila promises that she will gather with her loved ones next year as well, because – as she says – ‘there are always more pages in the novel of life’.
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Source: RINA; Photo: RINA