"Running Commentary"
A Reason To Live
Next month, my mother will celebrate her 100th birthday. Beginning today, I’ll share some old war stories about her. Mother will be gnashing her teeth reading that – she seeks no spotlight; however, it’s a momentous day for a special lady who deserves recognition for a life well lived. I hope you’ll enjoy the following column, published in the Salina Journal in 2013 …
How many senior citizens call their mother every day?
I can think of one – me.
To the charge of remembering one’s mother and paying her daily respect, I plead guilty. But today, there’s a special reason for calling and acknowledging Mom as the great woman she is – it’s her birthday.
And when she opens the Salina Journal this Sunday morning and reads this, she’s going to be shocked right out of her flannel nightgown.
(Ooops! … Bad visual!! That’s my MOTHER!)
Genevieve M. Heath (“Bengie”) was born the 20th day of the 20th year, in Brawley, California, 20 miles north of the Mexican border.
Struggling with the math? Today, Mom is 93 years young.
Mother is young where it counts – young at heart.
Besides, if you ran into Genevieve on the street, you wouldn’t think she was old. Mother looks a decade or two younger than her years. And to make sure she stays that way, Mom would drive through six inches of snow in a severe winter storm rather than miss her weekly appointment at Fusions hair salon in Concordia.
While there, she’s likely to get her nails done and have a pedicure.
Hey, if you got it? You can flaunt it!
Nothing wrong investing in a little fine tuning.
Infirm? Feeble? Hah! We call her, “The Iron Lady.”
As a member of the Crusaders Class at First United Methodist Church, Genevieve regularly goes on weekend trips with a caravan of younger friends. Many of them have trouble keeping up with her.
Naturally athletic, mother is a genuine Energizer Bunny – on roller skates.
Mother’s problem isn’t doing too little … she tends to do too much. Even when she’s tired, she’s exercising her mind, watching Jeopardy, her favorite TV show and the evening news.
With her beloved Boston Terrier Duke warming her lap, Mom reads … and reads … and reads. She’s a member of Concordia library’s book club and can easily polish off a couple of thick volumes in a week. Two or three – every week!
A key reason that Mom retains a lot of her youth is that, along with an active lifestyle, she has such a positive outlook about life. Mother never complains – ever! Two years ago, she slipped on black ice and severely broke her ankle. Despite major surgery and a long rehabilitation, Mom laughed it all off, saying she was clumsy.
Genevieve fights the aging process. She normally arises around daybreak. After letting her dog out, Mom will walk outside in freezing weather to feed half a dozen stray alley cats. After feeding her cat Shadow, Mother sits down with the morning newspaper and proceeds to attack the puzzle page.
Virtually every day, she completes the crossword puzzle – without mistakes. When the crossword is mastered, Mom won’t budge until she’s finished the Word Jumble and daily Cryptoquip puzzles. She also keeps up with national news.
Typically, and this is no exaggeration – within an hour of rising, she will have finished her morning chores, fed the dog and the cat, had breakfast, washed up the dishes, straightened the house, read the entire newspaper AND finished the crossword and puzzles.
All that in less than an hour.
And on the seventh day, she rested? Surely, you jest. Every other day, Genevieve goes down to the Senior Center to exercise with friends.
Several years ago while walking Duke, mother noticed a nearby house for sale. She thought the price was right and paid cash for it. She closed the deal within 10 days, thereby creating a new career at age 90 – Real Estate investor and landlord. Her new tenants love her.
The list of Mom’s volunteering for church and community projects is too long to enumerate here, but she regularly bakes pies to help out with fundraisers and funerals. Ten years ago when she moved to Kansas from California, she began volunteering at the elementary school to help students who struggled with reading.
A lifelong schoolteacher, Mother is active with a philanthropic organization and buys coats in bulk at Walmart when they go on sale. The coats are donated to a local school for any child in need of a warm winter coat. A brand NEW warm winter coat.
Did I mention that she plays the piano beautifully and has perfect pitch? Or that she has traveled all over the world – many times? Mother toured Cuba before U.S. sanctions were lifted! Moreover, she is the most giving and generous person I’ve ever known.
Visiting from Philadelphia several years ago, I asked her, “Why do you feel the need to do so much? You have good health and a comfortable lifestyle. Why not slow down and smell the roses?”
Mother frowned at such a preposterous question. “I need to have a reason to live,” she said. “I don’t want to sit at home with nothing to do. I need to be needed … to do good for others.”
93 years young, forever young at heart.
Happy birthday, Mom … truly, you ARE the best!
Note: That final message from Mother seven years ago – a reason to live – has special resonance today when so many people are struggling through difficulties. May we ALL have a reason to live!