Inspired by Great Aunt Helen
I’m in Michigan. I was born here, so I come back to visit family often. Great Aunt Helen is a big part of this trip. The time I get to spend with her is priceless. She is 102 years young. Aunt Helen lived by herself in Erie until January. The story goes that her mail carrier noticed she had not gotten her mail from the day before. She called the police, and they found Aunt Helen on the floor. I’m fuzzy on the details, but she spent a few days in the hospital, a few weeks in rehab, and now a few months in an assisted living facility in Detroit, closer to family.
My Aunt Ellie and I slip into Helen’s room. She’s delighted to see us, and we savor the fresh bread Ellie brought. Aunt Helen piles on the butter and announces she consumes a pound of butter a week and refuses to drink water. My arteries clog at the thought, but who can argue with a 102-year-old about her diet? Ellie’s English Setter steps in for a pat on the head and a few bites of Aunt Helen’s dinner before she makes herself comfortable on Helen’s bed.
The stroke has not affected Helen’s speech, or her humor as we joke and laugh together. I remind her of how she beat the socks off me in Scrabble and Bananagrams two summers ago. She laughs and says she’s had more practice. After we pray for her, our goodbye is warm yet bittersweet.
The next day Ellie, Uncle Tim, and I visit Aunt Helen again. It warms my heart to see her a second time. She makes us laugh and inspires us. We play a couple of rounds of Rummikub. Aunt Helen wins one round and Ellie wins the other. Helen cheers for all of us.
I thank Aunt Helen again for her encouragement and support of my writing. In 2021, I parked my motor home in her driveway for a couple of days on my trek to Maine and again on my drive back through Pennsylvania. She generously gave me a Benjamin Franklin and told me to use it toward my new writing career. Now when I remind her that I bought an editing software program to help me become a better writer, she simply says she is glad she can help. Nothing makes her happier than knowing she can help people. I can only imagine how many others she has helped in her 102 years. She tells me she just wants to see my book when it’s finished.
Helen says she can’t hear or see well, but she reads the text messages aloud when they pop up on my phone as I show her pictures. A nurse comes in to check on her. She refuses pain medicine; she says she has no pain. Aunt Helen has never taken medicine. We FaceTime with her neighbor, Roy Walker, from Erie. She’s delighted to see him and makes him blush with compliments. He and a couple others helped her live by herself until 102, and she sings his praises. Rightly so. He tells her how good she looks. Now it’s her turn to blush.
Tim, Ellie, and I must leave. She says she doesn’t need us to do anything. After hugs, selfies, pictures, videos, and a long goodbye, we slip out. When I step back inside to retrieve my jacket, I notice she has climbed into her bed for a nap. She didn’t need our help, but we sure needed her. I thank God for Aunt Helen and the inspiration, blessings, and JOY she brings into my life.
Do you know someone like Aunt Helen? Who inspires you? Please scroll down and share below.
July 21, 2023 @ 2:13 pm
Such a pleasure to read about this remarkable woman who continues to bring JOY to all who have the opportunity to experience her gratefulness and enjoyment in every day life! I’ve only known of another women or two that have reached 100 year old mark but I have also been changed because of several women in their 90s. Not a day goes by that I don’t reminisce or think about something that I learned or some thing that was said. Keep sharing… Your words are a blessing!
July 22, 2023 @ 3:15 am
Thank you, Sandi. How much we can learn from our elders, if we just sit back and listen.
August 11, 2023 @ 4:12 am
Your Aunt Helen sure looks like your mom (or is it the other way around?)! And this picture of you makes me think of Lynn. No family resemblance whatsoever–haha!
August 12, 2023 @ 4:42 pm
Ha! At Lynn’s pool party, one of her friends thought I was Lynn when he saw me. I guess we do look alike.
August 21, 2023 @ 9:51 pm
I would love to live to at least 113. Though not many in our family have made it nearly that long. When I was almost 13 years old that 4th of July was our countries bicentennial . I have the greatest memories of that celebration, it seemed extra special, more than the usual 4th celebration, and I decided I wanted to live to see our country celebrate it’s tricentennial!! Lord willing I’ll do it and I love butter that may be my saving grace ❣️
August 22, 2023 @ 9:40 pm
Wow! 113? What a goal, Donna! My goal has always been 100, but 113, now THAT’s a GOAL! I wonder what our world will be like by then.
February 27, 2024 @ 12:59 pm
My grandfather lived 30 days past his 100th birthday. He was an inspiration because he never stopped working at something. He had worked on the railroad, and managed his own dairy farm, all the while keeping his 1 acre yard filled with fruit trees, a vegetable garden, and grape vines. I remember him loving the outdoors, as he always was taking me outside to pick fruits or vegetables. My grandmother spent her time canning all this produce, fig jam, and my favorite…pickled peaches.
When he was in his late 80’s he had a knee replacement. It didn’t slow him down for long, and he was back at yard work. He lived in Florida, so winters weren’t so bad. He watched Lawrence Whelk, in black and white, on the tv in the evenings, and thought he was the best. He also kept a pint of whiskey in the garage, as my bible-toting grandmother wouldn’t allow it in the house. He wasn’t an alcoholic, but believed one shot a day would keep his heart healthy. I don’t know if this helped with his long life, but it makes me wonder. He didn’t pass because of his heart.
I would love to be 100, so long as I can move about and spend time with family. As my mother is now 85 and in an assisted living 1 hour away, I realize social involvement and visits from family are so important. I’m trying to instill this in my children, and maybe they will continue to visit me as I get older.
February 27, 2024 @ 10:01 pm
Thanks for sharing the story about your grandfather, Sherry. What an inspiration. Yes, I would like to live to be 100 if I still have all my faculties. I hope your children will visit often.