When I asked my grandmother, “What do you think the secret of your long life is?” She thought a moment and replied, “I walked everywhere. And I never overeat. I eat my veggies. And have some sweets every now and again. I never hit the bottle much. Though schnapps are a good cure for an upset stomach and take everything as it comes.”
Oma has had a hard life filled with the challenges of beginning over and over again. She was orphaned at the age of six and had to go live with a new family. She survived World War II but lost her home and all belongings. After the war, she immigrated to Canada beginning her life over once again in a new country spending her first year in indentured servitude. Oma’s spent the last decade living without her dear husband with whom she shared life for over fifty years. If anyone in my life knows about starting again, starting over, picking up pieces and going forward, it is my Oma.
Despite all the hardships she’s faced, Oma is a delightful, generous, and loving person. Her voice brightens whenever I call her on the phone. She still grabs my cheeks, pulls me forward, kisses my forehead, and tells me how much she loves me. Oma has always loved reading and learning new things through books.
I, too, am starting again. Climbing the world’s highest peak requires a mountain of inspiration. For my second attempt on Everest, I am looking to my Oma, my grandmother Frida Loeffler, for the power, confidence, and strength to tackle such an enormous challenge again. In taking on Everest once more, I know much more clearly the sacrifice, the pain, the focus, and the financial realities of climbing the world’s highest mountain. It is that clear picture that makes it both harder and easier to choose to go back. It is in finding my way through the joys and sorrows of starting again that I will turn to my Oma for motivation for I know how often she has had to start again.
I am naming my Everest Expedition “Mountain of Learning.” As per usual, this name is imbued with multiple meanings. For me, the path of climbing mountains has been a deeply spiritual one. I look to learn from all parts of the expedition from training to approach to the actual climb. I am also an educator. A huge part of this journey has been sharing my learning from the mountains with students both young and old. I will continue with my youth outreach programs encouraging young people to be physically active, to have big dreams, and to read big books. I have heard it said that without reading, there can be no dreams so I plan to become an advocate for literacy and reading as well.
The life lessons on this path have been steep and have moved me to greater understandings of many aspects of my life. This path has also allowed me to give back to the community who supports me through some fundraising efforts. My aim in going back to Everest is to continue to seek learning and share it as it comes. In celebration of Oma’s life and love of learning and in fulfilling a decade’s old dream, I am establishing an award at Memorial University of Newfoundland. The award is called the Everest 2010 Mountain of Learning Experiential Education Award.
This endowed award will support students in pursuing experiential education opportunities in support of their degree programs. I often hear of students wanting to seek out experiential opportunities but the cost stands as a barrier. My dream is that the award will reduce some of the obstacles to such experiences and inspire students to enrich their studies by getting outside the classroom. You can donate to the award by clicking here.
