The most important lesson may be obvious, but often overlooked: it’s all about love. “Whatever question you have, if you approach it from the perspective of love, it is always a good thing.”
She doesn’t find it difficult to do that herself, even with her illness. “I have a lot of love in me. That keeps me here. That I can spread it. I see that as a form of love.”
It is this way of thinking, combined with her character, that keeps her strong. “It is also the last thing I can give to my children.”
Teatske’s fate cannot be changed. She knows that, but accepting it is something else. “I’m still in denial about that.”
She now lives day by day. “That is becoming more and more intense,” she says. “If I feel like having cheese fondue, then we do that. I wanted to dance but there was nothing, so I organize a party here in the garden. Everyone laughs about that, but they come. Dancing is mandatory!”
The children are also taught that part: whatever you feel like doing, just do it. “But also just leave the ordinary. Everything goes on, as far as possible. School, football, that kind of thing. You shouldn’t let it control you either.”
And that is also one of Teatske Wagenmakers’ life lessons.
