That was yesterday, of course. My mother died a few years ago and I think of her every day, not just once a year. That’s not what this post is about, though.

My mother in law is still alive and quite healthy. Earlier in the week she turned 96. Ninety…Six. She lives in her condo which is on the second floor of her building. Which has no elevator. Got that? 96, lives in her condo, not assisted living, not a nursing home, her home.

Oh, she gave up driving about four years ago. Which was a relief and might have helped reduce insurance rates in our area. If nothing else, it made me feel safer. Then she sold her car. She asked my and my daughter to help, but apparently we were too slow because she placed and ad somewhere and sold the car in about two days.

She handles her own financial affairs, her own health care decisions, well, everything all by herself. Back when she turned 90 she told her doctor she wanted a Do Not Resuscitate order, no dialysis if that ever came up, no invasive procedures.

She pretty amazing, actually. She’s outlived almost everyone she’s ever known. Husband, brothers, son in law (the other one), a nephew, three sisters in law, well just about everyone. That includes a number of her doctors.

I’d say she has the typical maladies that 96 year old women have, but at that age “typical” doesn’t apply. She has medical problems, but none are surprising given her age. What’s surprising is what isn’t wrong with her. No cardiac problems, no respiratory problems. no diabetes, none of what we consider typical old age maladies.

Yesterday Mrs. EMS Artifact and I went to her house for Mothers Day lunch. We were eating and chatting when the subject of her moving came up. I won’t bore you with the details, but the stairs are getting to be a chore. We talked about her options for moving, which are few. She’s not eager to move, she likes her condo, but she can foresee that she won’t be able to do the stairs forever. Anyway, we didnt’ figure that one out, so we went on to other topics.

At which point, she revealed the secret of her longevity. She does something every day. She gets up, gets dressed, makes breakfast, and then does something. If the weather is good, she goes out shopping. She takes a cab down the street, shops, comes home. She reads and replies to her email. She does some Internet surfing. She does something every day, she doesn’t sit around the house moping. She could dwell on all of the loved ones she’s known who have passed on, but she doesn’t. She remembers them, she loves them, but she doesn’t dwell on them.

And no, I won’t make any odds on whether I’ll be at her funeral or she’ll be at mine. People refer to her as the Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going and going and going. She has two daughters, two sons in law, five grand children, and three great grand children. With a fourth on the way. She keeps in touch via email and phone calls with all of her grand children.

That’s a good role model and one I plan to follow for as long as I can.