You wouldn’t think looking at the trim, smartly dressed 92 year old woman that she was raised on a farm during the Depression and routinely transformed roosters into capons. For those of you who don’t know what a “capon” is, just “Google” it.
Marcy Schwabenbauer gave a talk to a group of senior citizens at the Bayfront Enrichment Center in Spring Hill on Tuesday, March 7. The name of her talk was “Be still and know that I am God” and the theme was “I’m not done yet.”
She started her presentation with dry, self-deprecating humor as she said, “I’m sure you’re wondering what you’re going to get today and so am I.” Marcy recounted many fascinating stories about her long life, interspersed with pithy phrases espousing her philosophy of living.
She asked the group, “How many of you look forward to growing old and what does ‘old’ mean? Is it a fearful thing or is it something that God provides in our life that we can develop and grow
and change the idea from ‘old’ to ‘I still have a lot to do.’ ”
Marcy told about growing up in Pennsylvania on a farm with twenty-eight milk cows and thousands of chickens. Her father died when she was very young and her older brother took on the responsibilities as head of the household. It wasn’t an easy life and she grew up with strong resilience and a lot of spunk. Her detailed memory of her early life (even listing the names of the other children in her grade school class) amazed the audience of about twenty women at the discussion group.
Raised in a devout Catholic family, Marcy joined a convent at age twenty and spent thirty years as a nun, teaching school and working in social services. While in the convent she became close friends with another nun, Mary Ellen. The two of them decided to leave the convent and venture out into the wide, wide world.
Marcy continued her career in social work in Illinois and when Mary Ellen developed rheumatoid arthritis the two moved to Florida. They remained close friends and companions until Mary Ellen died at the age of ninety.
Marcy relayed her philosophy of life to the group and welcomed comments from her audience.
She stated, “The most important thing in life is to have God as #1. If we don’t have that we’re wasting our time. There isn’t anything that we can do that He won’t forgive. We need to forgive one another, too. Love, Love, Love and Love some more.”
With wisdom, Marcy addressed the issue of aging that more and more of us face as the average lifespan has increased over the past years.
Aging isn’t a burden; it’s a privilege. It isn’t a burden; it’s a reality.
Her advice for people of all ages: “If you have lots of complaints, you have a lot of growing to do.”
Marcy is an active, productive person and welcomes every day as a new adventure. She has a live-in nurse now, Shamini Gopaul, who takes care of her and chauffeurs her to her many activities -from social gatherings to routine errands. Unlike many people who reach a certain age, she’s not set in her ways and embraces technology. She even has a Facebook account with over 100 friends.
At the end of her talk, Marcy shared a handmade book telling about her life and gave everyone in the group a rosary that she had made by hand. Whether you were Catholic or not, the gift would be a lasting memory of this remarkable woman.
The Enrichment Centers located at both the Spring Hill and the Brooksville campuses of Bayfront Health offer classes and activities for senior citizens. These range from card games and book discussions to creative writing classes and exercise.
Linda Benitez a facilitator for one of the centers explained, “Our purpose is to help those in our community find meaningful contributions to the world in their older age.”
She continued, “Our mission statement is to draw hearts and minds together stirring up old and new dreams, encouraging and supporting each other as we enter each new stage of life.”
For more information on classes and activities at the Enrichment Centers call 352-544-6022 or 352-684-7568. You can also log on to www.BayfrontBrooksville.com or www.BayfrontSpringHill.com.