{"id":6226,"date":"2026-02-26T17:23:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/bibliotheek\/sometimes-a-person-is-capable-of-more-than-they-realize\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T17:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:08:58","slug":"sometimes-a-person-is-capable-of-more-than-they-realize","status":"publish","type":"library_pt","link":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/library\/kolommen\/sometimes-a-person-is-capable-of-more-than-they-realize\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes a person is capable of more than they realize&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2025-11-03T17:19:00\">03 November 2025<\/time><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we\u2019re telling a story, we sometimes just stop in the middle of it. Then we spot a bird in a tree or in the water. Or something else interesting: a little plant, an insect, a badger\u2019s or a roe deer\u2019s paw print, or a beaver\u2019s gnawing mark. When we point these things out to the participants, they often react with surprise: \u201cYou notice that so quickly\u2026\u201d Then I sometimes think to myself with a chuckle: \u201cYeah, and with just one eye!\u201d     <strong><em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had a conversation with my somewhat older and super-enthusiastic colleague Henny about how wonderful it is to stroll through nature with people and teach them to appreciate it. He said he would be really upset if something happened that prevented him from continuing this volunteer work. Hesitantly, he asked if I\u2019d mind telling him how I lost one of my eyes. I gave him the very short version: a malignant tumor in a lacrimal gland; the tumor and the eye were removed, followed by radiation therapy. This gave me the best chance of survival.      <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Henny, who\u2019s always talking, fell silent for a moment and then asked, \u201cDid you expect back then that you\u2019d be able to do what you\u2019re doing now?\u201d Because I know how afraid he is of no longer being able to do what he loves so much, I had to swallow hard before I answered. \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t expect that. I was afraid I wouldn\u2019t be able to do the things I used to love so much: working with groups, birdwatching, reading books. And now I\u2019m actually sometimes surprised by all the things I am able to do!\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apparently, my story had eased his anxiety a little, because his face brightened, and as he slapped my shoulder in his own enthusiastic way, he said, \u201cWhen something happens to a person, it turns out they can handle more than they think!\u201d  <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Anita Hol-Bubeck<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the past few years, I\u2019ve been leading excursions in the Nijmegen area together with fellow volunteers from Staatsbosbeheer. During these hikes through the polder, forests, and fenlands, we tell participants about how these areas came to be and all the plants and animals that live, grow, and bloom there.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6227,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_daextauttol_enable_tooltips":""},"library_cat":[112],"class_list":["post-6226","library_pt","type-library_pt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","library_cat-kolommen"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_pt\/6226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_pt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library_pt"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"library_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_cat?post=6226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}