neighbor lady

I have no direct neighbors, but the closest to us lives an old lady, alone with her cat in a tiny house. Her husband died over 15 years ago and since then she has been alone. Her niece helps her with doing the groceries and the "Volkshilfe" (People's Aid Austria) comes twice a day to control her health state and helps her to get dressed and with other daily tasks. Every now and then, I visit her or help feed her cat, if she is in hospital or can't do it herself for some reason. She is in a bad health state – she has severe kyphosis and scoliosis – but her mind is very vivid, and I can talk very openly with her. I admire how she manages to stay so cheerful, even though she never leaves the house. For quite some time now, she hasn't even left her kitchen, where her bed and wood stove are. She doesn't watch TV or read, and only occasionally turns on the radio to listen to the Sunday Mass. Whenever I'm there, a candle is burning in front of a picture of her late husband. I am deeply fascinated by people – their individual life paths and personalities. She is a Pisces like me, her birthday just 5 days after mine. When I lie in bed at night, I often think of her and wonder what she is thinking now. I can see how the loss of her husband and the way she things about herself created her back problems. It's hard to dissolve old patterns. If you observe others carefully, you can learn so much!

In the picture, you can see her roses. When she was no longer able to go outside, I took a photo of them in full bloom, printed it out, and gave it to her as a gift.

☙