Life lessons from a centenarian
Meet Roma Bratby, an incredible lady who recently celebrated an incredible milestone: turning 100. It’s an exclusive club that not many people have the good fortune of joining, but for the new centenarian it was just a day like any other.
“No different to any other day. One day is the same as the other as long as you are alive,” Roma says matter-of-factly, but concedes that, “It was a very nice day.”
For those who know Roma, they would expect nothing less from her. Roma has always had a pragmatic outlook, taking the lot life has given her without a single grumble. And when you look back at Roma’s life, one that is filled with more heartbreak and loss than many others, you can’t help but marvel at her no-nonsense yet optimistic outlook on life.
Born in Queenstown, Tasmania in 1915, Roma was the youngest of four children.
“I had a good life and I had a good mother and father. I got everything I wanted,” she says. But for Roma all she ever wanted or expected was food to eat, clothes to wear and a bed to sleep on.
“I always had plenty to eat and I had a good bed to sleep in. 90 years ago that’s all you needed.”
She would go on to meet the love of her life at 18, air force pilot Frank Bratby. A year later their first child was born, a son they named Frances Leonard Bratby. But the following year tragedy struck when Roma had three girls who died eight hours after birth.
“That was it. I couldn’t have more children,” Roma says. They tried adopting but as Roma already had a child, adoption agencies passed her over. It was devastating but Roma had to move on.
“It’s the way I’m built. If there’s something you can’t do anything about, you can’t dwell on it, you got to get over it,” she says.
However, there was still more heartbreak to come in Roma’s life as Frank died suddenly, aged 46. Roma, who was 43 at the time, never remarried.
“I had a good one for the first one and didn’t know what I would get for the second, so I didn’t want to take any chances,” she says, reflecting, “He was a very good fella and gave me everything I wanted.”
It was again another devastating chapter in Roma’s life but the ever realistic Roma knew she couldn’t wallow in sorrow. With Frank supporting the family before his death, Roma was left to look for work.
“When you’re on your own you’ve got to do get on with life. You had to get going and do what you had to do. You couldn’t depend on anyone else,” she simply states.
Roma and her son moved in with her parents in Richmond where she found work at the local Jex Steel Wool Factory. She worked there for the next 12 years before retiring and going to live at Villa Maria Catholic Homes’ Shanagolden Aged Care.
Reflecting back on her 100 years, Roma sums up her life in few sentences.
“I have been very fortunate in life. I’ve been able to work and now I’ve retired and I’m on a pension and I live here [at Villa Maria]. I am happy here and that’s it,” she says.
For Roma, that really is it. A woman of few words, she’s always found happiness in the simple things in life. Asked if there was anything in her long life she regrets or wanted to change, she shrugs, “No, not really. I don’t worry about anything much.”
“It’s no good looking back, you gotta look forward.You can’t do anything about what’s gone. You can only look forward to what’s coming. You have to look at the positives,” she adds.
It’s an outlook on life that we could all benefit from adopting – and as proven by Roma Bratby, it’s one that has seen her live to 100.
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