My family is blessed to have our very own “Super Grandma”. Grandma Dena is now 93 years old and resides in a very nice assisted living facility about 15 minutes from our house. In the past year she has become more sedentary, so we try to visit her in the comfort of her home as often as possible. One of the favorite parts of my week is to attend her “seated” exercise class with her and then go back to her room for a short visit. I’ll tell you, she can pump that 2 lb. hand weight like a champ. I often wonder if she will out-live us all.

Last week my boys and I went to exercise with her (they were still on winter break) and then we went back up to her room. Grandma set the boys up in her craft-matic adjustable bed (it’s amazing how high those lift off the ground) along with a pile of rootbeer barrels and chocolate. While they watched TV, grandma and I had a nice conversation about all the new things we had been up to.

“Yes, the kids are still in 4th and 2nd grade.”

“Of course, they are the smartest and most handsome students in their class.”

“Yes, Paul (my husband and her grandson) is very brilliant and a wonderful man.”

“No, we haven’t been camping lately, but we are looking forward to some more ski days in the coming weeks.”

At this point I decided to ask Grandma a question. “Grandma, at the age of 93, what kind of advice or wisdom would you give to a young person today?”

This is what she said:

“Keep active for as long as you can.”

“Don’t expect someone else to do all the work for you… at the very least, you can make your own bed in the morning.”

So, I offer those brief words of wisdom to you. I’m pretty sure we can all pump a 2 lb. hand weight twice a week and make our beds in the morning, but will we? I hope to glean a little more wisdom from Grandma in the coming weeks. I’m so thankful for our special relationship.