Words from a Reader

The “Writing Life Stories” e-mails I receive are such treasures. As soon as I see there is one in my inbox, I read it immediately. I look forward to them and never know how they will touch me. They can be interesting, informative, humorous, and/or touching.

Friday, January 20, 2012

97 Years Old and Keeping On

Today I had the pleasure of visiting with a dear cousin who is 97 years old! The best part is she is not bedridden, she is sharp as a tack and was able to climb up into my SUV even though she uses a walker since she fell and broke her pelvis a while back.
She has broken both hips and recovered. I think she is absolutely amazing. She is a joy to talk with. She knows all the news in the family and filled me in on her children, grandchildren and nieces and nephews. She lost her husband a few years ago and a brother recently.
When asked about her longevity, she said she just keeps on keeping on.

The laugh lines around her sparkling eyes are the only noticeable wrinkles. She gets her hair done every week and looked beautiful to me.
"You look more like your mother every time I see you," she said to me, "and that's a compliment."

I know it is. After our delicious lunch, she gave me directions to the old Gillette Cemetery that was founded in 1850. Her husband is buried there and a head stone awaits her name next to his.
She showed me the Gillette Baptist Church, and I learned that she met her husband to be at that church when they were very young - so young she can't remember the first time she met him.
After we had spent a couple of hours together I took her home where the young woman who lives with her had begun to worry about her. But I believe my cousin could have gone on another hour or two showing me more historical sites in the area.
She could be a role model for all of us. In fact, I left feeling more energized than I have in a long time.

8 comments:

  1. How wonderful! I love the thought of women of a certain age (in her nineties) being sharp and active. She is a role model for me, for sure!

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  2. She sounds like a wonderful lady, Glenda. Let's hope you have some of that genetic material so that you can be remembering at 97!

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  3. I'd love to post my cousin's photo, but must get her permission first.
    Joan, I certainly hope I have some of the same genetics, but I am getting concerned about my memory already.
    I misplaced my camera when I got home and can't for the life of me remember where I put it. (smile)
    Thanks for your comment.

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  4. DJan,
    Isn't it wonderful when we hear about women like my cousin? I suspect you are cut from the same cloth.
    I want an interview with you on your 100th birthday, OK?

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  5. It's true that some people are resilient until the very end. I knew a lady at the nursing home where I worked who lived to be a hundred and was still as sharp as a tack. She used a wheelchair to get around, but every once in a while, she got up out of that wheelchair and gave me a hug.

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  6. I love that, Abbie. I'm sure she loved having you there to help her.
    I received an email tonight on ways to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
    I do most of the things they said to do, but I don't get lots of cardio exercise. I have reasons which might also be excuses, but I think most of it is in the genes.

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  7. I'm glad to know that one of the ways of preventing Alzheimer's is to get plenty of cardio exercise. I participate in water exercise classes three days a week at the YMCA. We not only get a cardiovascular workout, but we also do muscle toning. You might want to look into that. Did you know that because of the resistance water offers, you get more of a workout than you do on land?

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  8. Abbie, I did water exercise for a long time and they helped me in many ways, but I have MCS, and can't use a pool with chlorine in it.
    The pool I used to use has gone back to using chlorine. I hated that because the water exercise is excellent for me.

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