Friday, February 3, 2012

When 91 is just another number


I just got back from Florida. My sister, Deb, and I went to St. Augustine, then to Avon Park to visit my mom -- it was her birthday. Do you know that the word nonagenerian means? It means someone whose age is in the 90s. Yep, Mom is 91 years old.

My age is a closely guarded secret, but most people who are geezers like me in my age bracket don't have a mom, so I consider myself pretty lucky.

Mom still lives at home in Illinois except for the three winter months that she snowbirds in Florida. She still drives (although not at night and generally not on an Interstate highway). It must be a blessing to be 91 and be independent.

I was talking to Mom and she said she has some of her savings in bonds. She has their maturity dates staggered and some are due in 2024. Now there's an optimist, but that's Mom, and I'm obviously proud of her.

I asked her what is the biggest change she's seen in 91 years. I thought she'd say the Internet or cell phones or something like that. She said it was airplanes. When she was a kid, they were new and when one flew over, she told me that everybody would run outside and gawk at them.

13 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, MOJO's Mom.

    Lucky boy, MOJO.

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  2. I agree with your mother. Amazing to think that her parents could have seen the Wright brothers take off in 1903 and Neil Armstrong land on the moon in 1969.

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  3. Great picture ... except for your freakin' tee-shirt!

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  4. I agree with lightning on the shirt :)

    91 and independent. That's quite a blessing.

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  5. @lightning and @LuckiDuck: You didn't notice the jacket, right?

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  6. Glad to hear everyone is well. Did she take u out for orange ice cream and to the Resturant that the college students fix your food?

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  7. @Charlie: Yes, we had the orange ice cream and the dinner at the hotel. It was a good trip.

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  8. What a sweet post and very special tribute to your beautiful Mom. It's wonderful that she's able to travel and enjoy life.

    You don't look so bad yourself for being an old geezer...I've got a pretty good idea of your age and I'm a few years older, so I know we're both looking at that nonagenarian thingy in the nearing future if we're lucky enough!

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