100 Years

I know a lady who, in a few weeks, will have lived 100 years.

Wow. Just soak that in a minute, born in the summer of 1906. 100 years. A whole century.

Mary made it through the perils of childhood diseases and that nasty flu epidemic without immunizations or antibiotics. She made it through the rough times of the depression and two world wars, McCarthy, Vietnam. But she's been around for some amazing things, too. She had the opportunity to witness Halley's comet, twice. The planet Pluto was discovered in her lifetime. Men have walked on the moon, and we've landed a rover on Mars. Why, I'd imagine that she could be a walking, talking history book, if ever you needed one. We young folks could find out what it was like to live without plastic and electricity, and all the sundry devices we take for granted now, to include telephones, radios, televisions, refrigerators, automobiles, and air conditioning. In the 100 years she's been around, old diseases have been irradicated, and new ones, often even more lethal, discovered. Dr. Alzheimer identified the brain condition bearing his name the very year Mary was born.

Mary, thankfully, is still vibrant and alert as ever. No Alzheimer's plagues her. She's been a caring mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, aunt, great aunt, and cousin all, or most, her life...for years the much loved and respected matriarch of her large extended family, of which I am merely a small part. This woman has traveled the world (to include riding a camel on safari in the last decade or so), and continues to remain active and involved. All who have ever known her are blessed for the experience, whether they know it or not. And most of us know it.

You know, I've heard the cliche's about the kind of folks that live long lives. "Only the good die young." "So-and-so is too mean to die." Now, most cliches are cliches because they contain more than a grain of truth. But, Mary... well... she goes against that particular grain. I've never witnessed her be anything but kind, gracious, and life-loving. She is an inspiration to the rest of us to live fully to the last breath.

Come to think of it, I think maybe Mary has lived so long, not out of meanness, though some mischief is still in her eyes... She's still around because she's one of those who is filled with life, and her very enjoyment and love of it is what has kept that life force replenished. We could all learn a lesson from Mary.