Maria S.
by Nicoleta G.
Name: Maria S.
Gender: Female
Place of birth: Timişoara
Place of residence: Timişoara
Nationality: Romanian
BACK THEN
In which year were you born?
I was born in 1949.
How would you describe your childhood?
When I was little, I used to go to kindergarten, come home and find my grandmother. I was leaving kindergarten at eight o'clock with my neighbors, I was watching the tram 5 pass, because I was very happy to see it. I lived with my mother, father, grandmother and, five years after my birth, with my sister.
After I finished kindergarten, school started. I did grades I-IV with the teacher, my companion, as they said at the time. Then came the second cycle. I would learn well. One day I went to the dentist with my grandmother and she came to see the teacher. She told him that she had a good and very smart niece.
Please briefly describe living circumstances from your teenage up to your retirement
The years passed, I entered high school, I graduated in mathematics with 10, I entered high school among the first, I finished high school and I took the baccalaureate. At that time, only two children took him. It wasn't a problem like it is today. It was school, you know. I went to college and in the second year I had an argument with my friend and I met my husband, whom I married in two weeks. Then came my first child, my little girl Nicoleta Diana, to whom I wanted to give her two very beautiful names. After 11 years, Cosmin Lucian Emil came. He gave his father three names to thank his godparents, his grandparents, and us.
I was at work most of my life. We worked in payroll, accounting, we had to have records, to be up to date all the time. Every year we made sure to go to the sea, in the first years of our youth, then we went to the mountains.
Being at work and busy, I had a woman who took care of my children. She took them and brought them from school, and then they stayed with my grandmother until I came home from work. Then, when I came home, I took care of them. I loved them like the light of the eye and I couldn't wait for it to be Saturday. But in the beginning we also worked on Saturdays. I couldn't wait to be with them on Sunday. The years flew and flew, now they are big, I have two big grandchildren and one little one.
NOWADAYS
Please compare what were you thinking about old age when you were young, your expectation of your life in retirement, and how it is really now.
If I once heard…, a 50-year-old woman died, I would say a grandmother in all her nature, today I am 71 and I say God, how fast the years fly, the difference is that then the world was not so stressed. Now there are more problems in this life and time passes very quickly, time flies.
Please describe the life you are living now
I have diabetes and Parkinson; there are some problems that are not easy, but I am happy that my children are with me. My daughter comes to me, my grandchildren always come, she is happy, she has a good husband. I want her to climb to the highest peak of her service, and my son is with me. I sold the apartment, and I`m staying with them and I'm glad I'm not alone. So we all meet, especially in the evening, because they're gone. I have a little nephew who is here with me, I love everyone, I love my family like the light of my eye and that's all I have. My fortune is children and grandchildren.
We were a group of friends both at school and at the office. We were close friends. And today my friends call me from Germany, from America. I feel so happy when I hear them! We meet again, at least once a year we meet and we talk about our children and grandchildren! And what more can I say? I say that I am as happy as can be with all the problems of life.
Which media you consume in everyday life (TV, radio, newspapers)?
First the Bible, from which I started reading every day, then newspapers, television, more news and the phone, the phone all day, we comment and develop the problems and draw conclusions.
What motivates you or can motivate you?
First, the connection with children and grandchildren. They are the number one in my life, but also I have my friends, my old friends, which I met in 2007 at 50 years after graduating from high school. We met, we gave each other phone numbers, we were glad to hear each other.
What are the major roles of retired persons?
As far as possible, I help my children as much as I can. I advise all young people to take care to have a pension, to have a future and towards the end of life. At the peak you are with all the blessings, so you have a salary, but in the end you have to have a pension and God help all young people to be able to get a pension, to be able to be happy and to help their grandchildren when they come to them , to give them a gift on their birthday.
What would be your message for the younger generations?
To be healthy, to live in peace, to be obedient children to their parents. Parents should be body and soul for their children, not to neglect them, and children should be honest with their parents. May we all be united in everything we do and in love to do everything.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO ROMANIA
Which traditional customs do you still keep in your family?
One of traditional customs is the Christmas carols. The most beautiful memory is when our parents made us a Christmas tree and sang carols. We used to go to the neighbors and sing carols, and we were happy. At Easter we all went to church and enjoyed ourselves again. These were the main Orthodox holidays. In general, meeting children on holidays with the family is the greatest joy for grandparents.
Did you go through a painful experience caused by the communist regime (persecution, deportation, nationalization, etc.)? How did you manage to overcome that difficult time?
No.
What are the values that guided you throughout life and that you want to transfer to the next generations?
I did my duty at work, took care of the children, if I couldn't directly, then by hiring a person to supervise them from school to the canteen, from the canteen at home, to give them meditations…. In the summer I took them to the mountains, to the sea, especially to the seaside. We were looking for the children to feel good, to be happy. I gave English classes for my second grade son, he speaks perfect English. My daughter has always been one of the best children and today she is the same. I pushed them and urged them to be head and not tail.