Trudy

This is Trudy, one of the wonderful ladies on my Meals on Wheels route. Ted and I went to her 99th birthday party to help her celebrate. Trudy is my role model. She’s 99, still lives at home alone (her husband passed away maybe 10 years ago). She cooks some of her own meals, and only stopped driving a year ago. She goes to lunch 2 or 3 days a week. She goes to exercise class (chair exercise, she uses a walker). When her family comes to visit, she cooks for days ahead of time, rather than letting them do the cooking (which they would be eager and willing to do). She remembers the birthdays of the people who deliver her meals, and she sends us all birthday cards every year. She has more energy than most people I know 20 years younger than her. Some of this is likely lifestyle. Trudy is interested in the world around her, happy and outgoing and really LIKES people. Some of it is not smoking, not drinking too much (though she’s not a teetotaler either), getting her exercise. Some of it is genes. I once asked her how old her mother was when she passed away…she said she was 101.

She was a hoot at her party. She had planned so carefully, for months and months. She wanted a pianist to sing old time songs like, “You are my Sunshine” and “California Here I Come”. She wanted finger food and a popcorn machine. She wanted little cupcakes instead of a big cake. I don’t know what led up to it, but at one point she was sitting at the front of the room, next to the tower of cupcakes, and decided to throw one at someone. The room laughed uproariously.

Trudy is a wonderful example of a life well lived. She has no use for computers or modern technology, she can’t set the time on her oven by herself, but she has a heart full of love and laughter. She’s a good friend, and I’m fortunate to know her. Happy 99th Birthday, and I hope you have many more happy, healthy birthdays.