Although she grew up without parents, Sandra Manojlović never felt a lack of love, but it was unusual for her that, like other children, she did not have the opportunity to say the words mom and dad.
Sandra and her one-year-younger sister Jelena grew up in a foster family, alongside Aunt Danijela and her father's parents, who are now deceased.
Sandra encountered the term "foster family" only recently, but she does not consider that she grew up in a foster family, but in a "family nest full of warmth and attention"
"I never missed my parents in a physical sense, because my aunt, grandmother and grandfather made up for that lack with their attention, tenderness and selfless love for me and my sister every day. We believe that we had a very beautiful and happy childhood and that our biological parents would not have never gave us as much attention and love as we received from our aunt, grandmother and grandfather. They completely subordinated their lives to us, so my aunt, my father's sister, never married. She, along with grandmother and grandfather, is the hero of all our childhood fantasies." Sandra told "Vijesta".
She said that she encountered the term "foster family" only recently, but that she does not consider that she grew up in a foster family, but in a "family nest full of warmth and attention".
Sandra remembers that the children felt sorry for her and her sister for not having parents, but that over time they realized how much attention and love they received from their aunt, grandmother and grandfather.
Sandra says that her grandfather told her the most beautiful fairy tales, and that their favorite "The Wolf and the Seven Kids" had a new, richer, more beautiful and inspiring story every time.
He remembers his grandmother as a very caring and gentle woman, who subordinated the running of the household to their needs.
"She always knew how to please us in the right way. She took us for walks and to parks to play with other children and helped us study...", said Sandra.
However, their earliest childhood was marked by their grandfather, with whom the sisters spent the most time.
Sandra claims that he told the most beautiful fairy tales, and that their favorite - "The Wolf and the Seven Kids", each time had a new, richer, more beautiful and inspiring fable.
"He told us 'The Wolf and the Seven Kids' a million times, but each time we listened to him with such attention that he was also surprised by how much we absorbed every word. He knew how to conjure up the events from the fairy tale so that we ourselves thought that it was all happening at that very moment. He often told numerous anecdotes from his life, so we listened to those stories with great attention," said Sandra.
Grandfather died two months ago at the age of 85, so Sandra and Jelena continue their life with their aunt.
With grandfather at graduation
Sandra graduated last year, and the proud grandfather prepared very studiously for that day.
"When he took me to graduation last year, he prepared as much as I did, if not longer. Everything had to be in its place and under the thread, suit, tie, shirt... He was very proud that I graduated, and even more proud when I entered the Faculty of Economics. He considered that the crown of his work and life," said Sandra.
And math was a sweet pain
Grandfather, an "experienced educator", was in charge of helping her learn, and Sandra remembers that her grandparents told her from her earliest childhood that education is more important than anything else.
"Grandpa used to write homework with us every day, when we were younger, and later he controlled how we did it. I remember that, while we were solving math problems, he took candies and chocolates out of his pocket to make our calculations easier. The prize for the settled account was exactly those 'primitive' tools. And math was a sweet pain with grandfather," Sandra said with a smile.
Bonus video:
