Last week, I got a message from my Nana telling me it was her Aunt's birthday. She gave me her number and asked that my sister and I call her to wish her a happy day.
Aunt Olive, who is technically my great great aunt, is someone who I have never gotten the chance to meet. I've known her my whole life, but only know of her based on stories I've heard and the cards I receive on my birthday and on Christmas. She has now turned 94, and has fewer medical problems than I do. She is legally blind, but has been for most of her life, and other than that she is well. She does not live in a nursing home, she still can walk on her own, and talk, and read, and write. I have always been told she is a very happy woman, but never got to experience it until now.
I called Aunt Olive and wished her a happy birthday as soon as she picked up, and she said thank you before she even knew who she was talking to. I proceeded to tell her who I am. I introduced myself as "Little Valrie's granddaughter, Alyssa" and told her I was seventeen years old. We talked for 45 minutes.
I was told the same couple of stories multiple times. She told me that she could not believe she was 94, that she felt so good that it made her feel guilty, because no one her age is doing as good as she is.
She told me that the key to staying as healthy as she has for as long as she has is simply by "taking a walk and your vitamins every day." She then told me that on her daily walks, the animals in her neighborhood used to walk with her. There were two German Shepherds who were there with her every day, and occasionally some other dogs would join her as well.
She also told me a story about when she was in school. On the first day of class, she was asked a question that she did not know the answer to. She told her teacher this, and the teacher brought her to the front of the classroom and knocked her to the floor for being stupid. "So what I did, what I did was a stood up, looked that teacher right in the eye, and punched her right in the face as hard as I could," she told me. This story inspired me; not because I find violence towards teachers funny, or because I condone hurting others in general, but because she had the courage to stand up for myself. I went through years where I was terrified of standing up for myself, and this story showed me that no matter what, standing up for who you are against villainous bullies, whether they be teachers or peers or coworkers, is important. You should always stand up for yourself. She had always been in the shadow of her valedictorian sister, but she still defended who she was, because she knew that not being a genius made you a bad person.
After I had handed the phone off to my sister, I began to think about the conversation I had just had. I had never spoken with someone so loving and happy before, and it was almost baffling to me. I do not know all of the details of her life, but from the few things I do know, she had a very difficult life. She grew up poor, watched her son die, and long outlived every friend she ever had. She by no means coasted along an easy path to where she was now.
Finally getting to know her made me realize the true reason she is still alive and well at 94. I'm sure that the daily walks and vitamins helped, but the one true reason she outlived anyone else who may have taken vitamins and exercised is because of her happiness. She did not let challenges knock her down, she did not let stress make her sick, and she did not dwell on the sad things in her life. She stayed positive, kept a smile on her face, and trudged through any complication thrown her way. She is a truly inspiring woman, and if you want to live as long as her, my suggestion is you start being happy too.
That was fantastic...
ReplyDeleteWow! That's touching. And what an inspiring story! Of course, she shouldn't have had to stand up for herself alone. My mom went to a funeral for one of her family members she loved a lot. When she went back to school, her teacher asked where she was. Upon hearing her answer, he said, "So someone died. Get over it." My mom socked him right in the face. It really seems that students aren't the only ones capable of being cruel, or bullies, in school settings.
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