Centenarian

Caroline Lincoln is turning 100 tomorrow, January 4, 2009. Her driver's license expires tomorrow too. Not that she has driven the cherry little Camry that sits all polished and clean in her garage in several years. But she still motors around her own home with her walker on her 10 year old new hip, which she says is wearing out and she's glad is under warranty.

When I imagine her being 100 now, I realize that I have known her son for 30 years. Since he's going to be 70 this year, that means Granny was 70 when we met. Thus it follows that in the twinkling of an eye, Carl will be 100 too.

The other dude in the photo is Lawrence, Carl's oldest son. When I first met him, he was a skinny 19 year old kid with lots of curls who came to spend a summer with us. Now he's turning 47 with not much hair. In Granny's mind, he's still 19, since she seems to have forgotten that Carl and Larry dropped by a year or two ago, or that Larry stayed with her for a while after her hip surgery.

Where does a lifetime go? I looked across the room at myself in the mirror at Granny's today, and I was looking at a stranger. The stranger now has waddles under her chin. Where did those come from? This much I do know. I'm glad to know Carl's grown children, and I don't want to waste the next 30 years staying home and waiting for them to come see me like Granny has. I resolved today that as long as I can stay active, I'll do the traveling. We won't waste the years till our 100th birthdays.

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