My Grandmother is 92. She will proudly tell you that she still has all her own teeth! She lives in her own in a beautiful white house in Sarasota, Florida. She can still walk, eat on her own, make her own choices and tell you a really good joke. Although, she may tell you the joke more than once.
She has never passed a physical due to a heart murmur she has had since she was a child. Everyone thought she would die young. Instead, she has out-lived two husbands.
Her secret? She takes responsibility for her own health. She doesn’t always take the prescribed pills or undergo the recommended surgery. Twenty years ago doctors wanted to cut her open because they suspected breast cancer, she refused, and she is still here. It turns out she never had breast cancer. She understands that prescriptions are just protocols and if something that is prescribed makes you feel awful or doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t your best option.
She is optimistic, positive, confident, and well-informed. When her first husband died unexpectedly at an early age, she was shocked, he was her 100% (Everything she could have ever wanted). However, she picked up the pieces and refused to live a life of mourning and grief. She took cooking classes, went on a cruise, and took flying lessons. She has been a painter and dancer. She has designed houses, dabbled in real estate, and worked as a nurse, teacher, and anesthesiologist. She raised a family. She lived through the Great Depression without noticing. She still follows the stock market, politics, and Dancing with the Stars. She knows who she is and lives her life as she wants. Her laughter, which sounds similar to the sound of an owl, is contagious and heard often.
The last time we visited she said, “Andrea, I planned to have a lot of money to leave you, but gosh, don’t you know it, I just keep on living.” We both chuckled, money will never be as important as the people in our lives.
So how do you live to be 92? According to my grandmother, live the life you want and always find the humor in a situation.
Start your own long, high quality life today!
Advice I Give Myself 