When I am walking or swimming or when I am going down the stairs or when I can’t get to sleep, I have a set of words that I go through. It’s, “I am” and then it is six or eight terms. So, it is like, “I am good,” is my first word, “I am kind, I am loving, I am caring, I am happy, I am healthy, I am patient, I am peaceful.” And I just go back over those over and over again. And they help me get through the day.
Natalie Alice Atwood Maynard is an 82-year-old accomplished woman who was interviewed at her place of residence, The Eisenberg Assisted Living Center in Worcester, MA. Natalie grew up on a farm with her twin brother, older brother, older sister and parents in Medford, MA. Natalie attended school at Tufts University where she obtained her degree in women’s physical education, and married her late husband, Herbert Maynard, the year she graduated college. Both Natalie and Herb worked at a school in West Boylston, until Natalie became pregnant with their first child. They bought a house in Princeton, Massachusetts and stayed there until all of the children were married and out of the house. In this interview, Natalie discusses her passion for learning and how she furthered her education while being a full-time mother. She also discusses the challenges she has faced with losing her loved ones, and how she has learned how to cope with depression.