COLUMN: Don’t Mind the Mess – A century of wisdom and wit

Reaching the grand age of 100 is like becoming a member of an exclusive club – one that requires surviving everything life throws at you for an entire century.

It’s not as rare as it used to be. As of July 1, 2024, there were 11,672 centenarians in Canada. This is the fastest growing age group in the country.

I recently had the honour of interviewing two of them. They were celebrating with friends, family and staff at the local personal care home. They wore silly birthday hats and played with big purple balloons declaring, “Happy 100th”

These lovely ladies clapped and sang along, swaying in their wheelchairs as a group of local musicians played round after round of their favourite hymns and folk songs – the last century produced a lot of them.

They nibbled on cake, and smiled like little girls, savouring every bite. Their faces were like roadmaps, every line and wrinkle revealing stories of good and bad times, smiles and frowns. Their soft white hair was like a crown, and the twinkle never left their eyes. Family members surrounded them, delighted to have mom/grandma in their midst for yet another year.

When the festivities were over, I interviewed these sweet old girls, eager to hear their nostalgic tales. This long celebration and all that sugar had made them a little sleepy, but they were happy to chat with me. I asked them their secret to a long life, and one of them simply said, “You just work hard and do the best you can.”

The other lady said it was about finding the joy in everything.

There was no magic pill, special diet or family gene that got them here, with the cake and balloons. It was time and destiny, and as one of them simply noted, “God.”

Aside from a few physical setbacks, they told me they didn’t feel 100. They greeted the morning the same way. What made it special was the people who were celebrating with them.

Turning 100 is a mix of wisdom, humor, and a bit of marvel at the sheer audacity of time and all the changes it brings. These folks have lived through two World Wars, the invention of the internet, and multiple fashion disasters. They’ve seen the world change in ways that most of us can’t even imagine. When they were born, telephones had rotary dials, and now we have smart phones that can make our morning coffee. When they were born, movies were silent, there was no bubble gum or sliced bread, or even pop-up toasters.

They come from an era where milk was delivered to your doorstep, and a movie ticket cost a dime.

There’s something incredibly charming about how centenarians view the world. They’ve seen it all, and they’ve learned to take life with a grain of salt and a hearty laugh. They know that most things we fret about are fleeting. Lost your phone? They once survived without even having one. Missed a bus? They’ve probably hitchhiked, rode a horse, or took a steam-driven train. Before Google, they had to learn how to do things by actually doing them.

Some of their memories had faded – the good and the bad. But they were here, now, and on that day, all was right with the world. They could smile because they had everything they ever really needed: food, family and fun. And maybe we can all learn something from that.