Life is full of chances. Sometimes we just don’t take enough before it’s too late!
I had the greatest opportunity to have lunch with my Aunt Maude. She is turning 98 on December 29th. When I called my cousin to arrange a visit, I suggested that my sister and I would come to the house to see them. My cousin, Ruth, said oh no, she will want to meet you guys half way at a Cracker Barrel. That meant an hour and a half drive for them and us, each way.
When they arrived, I found out that Maude had fallen some six weeks ago and cracked her pelvis, so she was using a walker. This perfect women had left the hospital and come home for no more than a couple of days before she announced, “That’s enough of that”, and got up to get on with her life. How determined is that? She is such a go-getter and so is her daughter, Ruth. Neither of them can sit still very long.
I noticed that she had a smile on her face and was just happy to be alive and kicking. So many elderly people fall and break something and that is it. They become bedridden and get pneumonia and succumb. My sister says that Maude has always been the happiest person. She has always been my favorite aunt, and I told her so. As we were leaving, she said, I am just so happy you came for a visit. Tears, right?
It reinforces my belief that happiness, genuine happiness that comes from the soul, increases longevity. That is just one of the reasons I look for humor and excitement in everyday events, starting from as soon as I wake up and announce that something really wonderfully exciting is going to happen today. It is then that I expect and find wonderfully exciting things happening all day. It is just a great feeling of accomplishment when I can say about something that turns out to be really exciting, “There, I knew something really wonderfully exciting was going to happen today!
Although I recognize that I come from a long living family stock, most of my relatives have become infirmed and passed away at a much younger age than my Aunt Maude. I want to grow up to be just like her!