Barbara Hofmeister’s new book “To Be or Not to Be. The Choice is Yours” is
available now. Order through this link to get 47 SUCCCESS gifts. http://MegaSuccessDay.
“The little girl was standing tiptoe on the old brown sofa that served as her
bed at night. She pressed her cheek against the window pane trying to look
down the five stories to the busy street below. But as much as she craned
her head, their little attic room was too high up and the window too small to
see what was going on below. She signed and slipped down again behind
the kitchen table. She really wished her mother would be home to keep her
company and help her with her homework. But Mom was still at work and
when she finally came home she would be much too tired to be any fun.
Since they had fled East Germany life had changed dramatically. Nobody
had time for her anymore and she had left all her friends behind. No more
roaming the countryside with her German Sheppard, no more feeding and
teasing the chickens with her best friend Christine, no more climbing fences
and trees with her cousins. No more beautiful pink little girls room, no more
warm kitchen with Mummy cooking her favorite dinner, no more laughter
with Grandma who could tell such lovely stories. There seemed to be
nothing anymore…
“Not even Sunday morning tickling sessions with Dad.
Tears started running down her cheeks. She didn’t understand – WHY?
Why did they have to leave??? They had everything before – their own
house, a car, even a TV and a telephone – the only one in the village. They
had it ALL and loads of friends and a loving family. Why change this for
nothing?
“Now they only had this small, ugly attic room which served as home to all 3
of them. Not even a bathroom, just a sink and the toilet was 2 floors down.
Her Dad said it had to do. Maybe he didn’t mind so much. He was away all
week. He worked as a truck driver and only came home Friday night or
even Saturday morning and left again on Sunday. Maybe for him it was ok
but somehow she didn’t think so because there was no laughter when he
was at home and his nerves seemed frayed. And almost every Saturday he
took Mummy to the cinema. He said it was to let his little girl sleep. Why
couldn’t he understand that she would rather not sleep then be alone -
once again.
“Sometime she thought he did not love her anymore. How else could she
explain the harassed look on his face, their continuous arguments about her
education and about money. That definitely was a problem. There never
seemed to be enough of it. She knew it was the reason why they both
worked so much but she didn’t care. She wanted her life back, she wanted
her family and friends back.
“Today the little girl is an ‘big’ girl. Her name is Barbara and in this book you
will get to know her because the little girl was me. My parents escaped from
East Germany when I was 8. My father in the trunk of a car, my mother and
I through Berlin. We arrived in the West with just a small case and the
equivalent of 400 Dollars.
“In those days there was plenty of work but no housing. All large cities, were
the work was, had been bombed out during the war. It took my parents
almost 20 years of hard labor before they had again what we left behind in
Communist Germany but my father was convinced that it had been worth it.
“Why? Because it had given him what was most precious to him – the
freedom to live his dream, the dream of becoming a successful
entrepreneur.
“When you are a little girl, you cannot understand that but when you are a big
girl like me today, you know how important the freedom to choose is. Today
I am very grateful that my father made this painful decision – also for me -
and through it gave me the opportunity to live my own dream, and part of my
dream is to empower you to live yours. If you let me, I will help you transform
your life into the life of your dreams – taking one step at the time.”
Barbara Hofmeister’s new book “To Be or Not to Be. The Choice is Yours” is
available now. Order through this link to get 47 SUCCCESS gifts. http://MegaSuccessDay.
