Birthdays are always a special time, but after 103 years, the celebration should be extra special, and Olga Concetta Barbieri agreed.
The Brookdale Southside resident turned 103 in September and held a birthday bash at the senior living facility in Jacksonville with many of her friends and family present to wish her a happy birthday.
According to Brookdale staff, she is looked up to by many Brookdale residents and associates for her combination of wit, wisdom and good humor that make up her embracing personality.
One hundred and three years is a long time, and she does not really have a specific secret to living so long, except enjoying and appreciating each moment along the way.
“I can’t think of anything I have or haven’t done that has created a long and happy life,” Barbieri said. “Keeping busy and staying active is important.”
However, she also said that is advice that anyone of any age can live by.
One of the ways she chooses to stay busy is by preparing her own meals daily. As well as putting on makeup every day and reading as she likes to stay up to date with the world.
Making food is something that has always been a part of her life as she made meals for her family and all her children’s friends, as they came over often for meals and to see what she had cooking in the kitchen that day.
With Italian heritage, her favorite food is of course, Italian food.
For such a unique age, she and the staff at Brookdale Southside wanted to make sure the celebration was just as unique and memorable.
As a result, they came up with the idea for a “ladybug” theme, especially since her birthday happened to fall on Friday September 13.
Although many people associate the number “13” with being unlucky, Olga wanted to focus on the number being lucky instead of superstitious, which is why she chose ladybug’s which are seen as a sign of luck in many cultures.
Having her birthday fall on “Friday the 13th” is not something new for Barbieri, as of her 103 birthdays she has had, 15 times it fell on a Friday over the years.
There was plenty of luck to go around during her birthday celebration as it included a ladybug-themed cake and magnetic ladybugs that each person in attendance took home to give them an extra slash of luck whenever they need it.
“Friday the 13th” may be seen as unlucky to many, but Barbieri sees it as quite the opposite and she hopes for many more when it falls in September.
