She Looked Like a Million Bucks!

She looked like a million bucks. She was well dressed, wore jewelry, makeup, and a top-of- the-line wig. She walked upright and held a cane. I was told that she was 105 years old. I swear, she only looked 80! My parents are snowbirds and each year for 4 months, they migrate their lives to their condo in Florida, and surround themselves with a boatload of friends and relatives. Last week, I went to visit them for March break. The moment I arrived, I was greeted by all their buddies. Within minutes, my aunt pulled me aside and pointed out a woman, dressed to the nines, who was sitting in the shade, knitting. In a hushed tone, I was told that the woman in the pink suit was 105 years old and I was instructed to get a picture of her. My jaw dropped, she looked fabulous! By virtue of the rarity of the moment, I attempted to get a good shot of her with my camera. Discretely, I snapped some pictures and got a few distant side shots of her, none of which did her justice.

A few days later, there was a talent show for the residents of the building. There she was, in all her glory, sitting with a group of her friends. Again, I was prodded to take a picture of her. Not wanting to intrude, I tried to take a picture from where I was sitting but my attempts were useless. At one point, I finally mustered up the courage to go right up to her table and point the camera right at her and say, "Say Cheese!" She leaned in with her friend and gave me a winning smile. The camera happened to be on video and my shots were a blurred mess. Feeling mildly embarrassed and very intrusive, I walked away defeated with six blurry shots.

Later that evening, on our way back home, she happened to be in the elevator at the same time as us. With great enthusiasm, she wagged her finger at me and said, "You took a picture of me... why did you do that?"

What was I supposed to say? How could I really even explain it? Was I supposed to reveal that I was absolutely fascinated by her age? Was I supposed to tell her about how my aunt put me up to it? How could I position it so that I could walk away with my head up?

Here's what came out of my mouth...

"I was looking for the two most beautiful women in the room and I found you!"

She said, "Do you know how old I am?"

I pretended I didn't. After all, isn't it disrespectful to talk to an elderly person about age?

"No, I don't," I said.

"I am 104 and I'll be 105 in June!" she announced with undeniable pride in her voice.

I saw an opportunity, "105! Wow! Now I really have to take a picture of you!" She posed with a great big smile as we stood in the elevator. I finally got my perfect shot.

It seemed like a rare encounter due to the fact that she was so old. The question is this...why is living to 105 so rare? The thing that stops us is the belief that it's near impossible. Clearly, it's not impossible. We only need to expose ourselves to more people who exceed our age expectations in order to create a new norm for ourselves. This certainly applies to Olympic achievement - why can't it apply to aging?

Interestingly, my aunt, who is only 78, made me do cartwheels to get a picture of the 105 year old woman. She made me give her 5 copies of the picture for distribution. She wanted to keep the picture on her mirror – I am guessing to create a new anchor of what is possible for herself. Cool idea. What's your age anchor? Perhaps it's time to trade it up just a little...

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