This weekend I’m in Minnesota for the celebration of my grandmother’s 100th birthday.
This was an occasion I wasn’t going to miss – after all, how many people get a chance to live to 100?
Just think of what has happened on this planet since 1907 – and she has seen it all.
This morning my family and I visited with her privately before the big official celebration, which will be attended by nearly 200 relatives and friends.
While her senses have dulled with time, her spirit has not. My grandmother has always had a steady and graceful presence each time I have seen her, as befitting the matriarch of a lineage of over 100 (and counting), and this time was no exception.
The added element that stirred me this day was how she was so at peace with herself and the life she had lived.
She told me that she was happy with her life, and if she could do it over again, she wouldn’t.
That got me. Hers was an entirely different life than the one I was experiencing – almost exclusively spent in one place, as a farmer, a laborer, a mother, and a wife. She had never been to Paris, or London, or New York. But no matter. What she had was her unshakable faith and the love of a very tightknit family that never strayed too far away from her – with just a few exceptions (and I’m one of them).
Faith and Love – the most sustainable human resources of them all, and when it’s all said and done, the most important ones. What a valuable lesson at this time of my life, and from the most appropriate teacher.
I left my grandmother’s side happy for her contentment and moved by the simple message she had unknowingly passed along to her grandson – or maybe she did know……………..
I bet she did.
Thanks grandma, and Happy 100th Birthday. Your lesson’s in the blogosphere now – may it take root and live for another 100 years (at least).
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Happy 100th birthday to your grandmother! How wonderful that you were able to be there to celebrate this milestone and pass on the valuable lesson you’ve learned from her.
wow! happy birthday to your grandma!thanks for sharing this inspiring post!
here’s to long life!
Wow. Good stuff.
This was awesome.
It’s wild… because Andrew Clark reminded me to check out your post after reading my post from this morning. There’s something in the air… reminding us to tip the ol’ hat in resprect to those with decades of stories to tell.
That’s beautiful.
Thanks for sharing the story and thanks for making the effort to go to her party. I bet that meant the world to her!
Keep up the great work buddy!
Hi Connie, Dessy and Mitch – thanks for your comments and kind words. It was an emotional weekend for me – I had another chance to chat with my grandmother yesterday and she gave me more advice – “live, love, and learn”. Wow. What a great lady.
All the best to the three of you.
Happy 100th to your grandma! My great grandmother will be 100 on June 19th 2007. We will also have a special celebration for her. It’s really amazing to think of what these woman have seen and been through.
Thanks for sharing.
I’m humbled. I hope I am contented by the time I reach her age, if I ever do. Sounds like she live her fullest and doesn’t have any regrets at all! That is really admirable.
Hi Charm and Gloria – thanks for your comments. Nearly five months after this 100th birthday celebration I’m still in awe of this amazing woman, and the lesson she passed along.
All the best!