As I finished my second exercise set this afternoon... I was ready to pass by a neighbor that lives 420 meters from our home. He is age 99. He will be 100 in December. He was cleaning up his yard and clipping his shrubs for tomorrow's town yard pick up. I stopped by to chat with him. He said, "The kids don't want me to do this, like its going to make me die. I think at this point I could die in (pointing to his home) there sitting down or outside doing this." I responded, "You're correct. You gotta live. Do what feels good for you. "
He, at this point can hear me with hearing aids. Though his sight has diminished to two feet within his range, then he can see me. He remembered when my husband passed. We talked about marriage and protecting our children and their future. He remembered who our children were and asked about them. Then we talked about birthdays. I found out that he and I had a ton of birthdays in our families in July and October.
We laughed at some of the ridiculousness of life and living. We had a number of things in common. We were both in the Marines and we are both Catholic. He more church going. Me more praying seemingly all day long. He revealed to me when he got shipped of to the Korea War in 1950, his son had just been conceived.
I think about this elder man quite a bit. I hoped he was well and that he could live healthfully to at least 100.
Before we said our goodbyes, I said, "Hey. I'm going to say a prayer that you to make it safely and healthfully to your 100th birthday." We said goodbye and I began to pray for his safety and health to his 100th birthday in December. I think I'm going to bring him some cupcakes then, God-willing when he has his 100th birthday. ---Jody-Lynn Reicher
Comments
Post a Comment