The story of Grandma Lena, who proved that it’s never too late to realize a dream

On her Facebook page, Ekaterina Papina shared the story of how she met a very unusual traveler during a holiday in Vietnam.

Friends, I want you to meet an amazing person 🙂

Recently I was on vacation in Vietnam. And literally on the second day, I heard a speech in Russian at breakfast. At the next table sat a very old grandmother and tried to explain to the waiter she needed jerky food. Grandma sat with a woman younger than herself and I thought it was Mom and Daughter who had come to rest. That’s great! It’s not often you meet our old men on vacation, unfortunately…

I thought I’d come over and help her translate into English so she could cook spicy food. And you know what? It wasn’t family, it was just people I met on vacation. But! Baba Lena (as she introduced herself to me) flew in alone!!!!! Alone!!!!! From Krasnoyarsk to Vietnam! At 89!!!!!

To say that I was amazed is not to say anything! Of course, we decided to get to know this amazing grandmother 🙂 Grandma was born in 1927. During the war, she worked at the rear, in Orenburg, plowing on oxen fields for sowing, then sowed, cleaned. She married a military man. At first, everything was fine. But then my husband started drinking, beating her and her daughter. It was hard. Now Granny lives alone. She has a daughter and two grandsons.

At 83, Granny Lena decided to travel… That’s how she decided! And since then she has been saving up her pension (herself! does not ask anyone) to leave 1-2 times a year. As far as I understand, no one helps her. I told her that every year she goes to Karlovy Vary for three weeks to get medical treatment. There she met a woman once, she invited her to Germany. Do you think Grandma Lena didn’t fly to her next year? :))) Of course, I flew away, and from there they left for the Czech Republic together 🙂

My grandmother’s health allows me to travel. She walks, of course, with a stick, but quite confidently! But the eyes, alas, fail hard. One hardly sees at all, and the other – badly. He’s planning to have an operation. The last one didn’t go well.

In Krasnoyarsk, she goes to a travel agency, and the staff helps her choose a trip. Baba Lena travels with her backpack. Of course, it is hard for her to wear it herself, but always and everywhere some people help her. And you should see her neatly hanging outfits in her room! Grandma is unreal!!!

I was amazed at how sane she was thinking, how flexible and clingy her mind was at 89! She is an interesting conversationalist and just a positive person!

Of course, being alone, it was hard for her to deal with all the nuances in Vietnam, and we decided to take her under patronage for the rest 🙂 We tried to show her the maximum of what was available to her physical condition.

And she is such a person – open to everything new. For example, we asked her if she would like to try a bike ride with the driver – agreed with great enthusiasm! I was riding in the back of her seat and asked if she was scared. What did Baba Lena say: “Super!!!” The Vietnamese driver hugged her for so long, didn’t want to go straight away 🙂 In general, there were a lot of positive things, some of them are in the photo 🙂

I wanted to share this incredible story!!! Relax, let everyone know what amazing, brave and cool grandmothers live in our country :). I would very much like to be the same at 89 years old! Only grandma Katya 🙂

Source: lifehacker.ru.