Mother in law coming today!

[Trek420]

DoW,

I treasure in my scrapbook somewhere a scorecard where I beat our parents at scrabble...once.

Mom often "scrabbles" at least once a game.

She's pretty fit for 84 although she had difficulty lifting the 25 lb watermelon she grew. She gardens again a lot now though she stopped for a while after moving to her new home and living alone. I'm glad to see she's at it again.

Aware that it's less of a "workout" with a town lot rather than her previous 3 acres she added walking to the mix. Now thinks little of walking into town to shop, volunteer or raise heck being an activist.

Fact is she walks further and faster than I do.

Sure she has her aches and pains however we're really lucky, Duck and I to have been spared thus far many of the rigors of the "sandwich generation".

I know this, and my Mom "won't last forever" but I asked her what she credits her health too. She credits staying active.

Other than genetic luck of the draw I think she would say to you all "Keep moving!"

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

She's pretty fit for 84 although she had difficulty lifting the 25 lb watermelon she grew. She gardens again a lot now though she stopped for a while after moving to her new home and living alone. I'm glad to see she's at it again.

Aware that it's less of a "workout" with a town lot rather than her previous 3 acres she added walking to the mix. Now thinks little of walking into town to shop, volunteer or raise heck being an activist.

Fact is she walks further and faster than I do.

Sure she has her aches and pains however we're really lucky, Duck and I to have been spared thus far many of the rigors of the "sandwich generation".

I know this, and my Mom "won't last forever" but I asked her what she credits her health too. She credits staying active.

Other than genetic luck of the draw I think she would say to you all "Keep moving!"

Trek that's so great!
I HOPE to be as active as your mother if I make it to 84!
My own mother died this year at the age of 84, after about 5 years of slow decline. My mother was a wonderful loving unique woman, but she was the opposite of active. Her goal for decades was to avoid exertion as much as possible. This lesson is not lost on me. I saw her couch potato lifestyle make it harder and harder for her to move around and be active or independent. Her last years were physically extremely difficult. "Keep moving" is a motto that I too have tried to keep in my life, because I want to be actively living a productive life in my 80's. Your mother sounds like an inspiration.

[Trek420]

Lisa (hugs), I'm sorry to hear about your Mom.

On the one hand our parents generation in some ways had a healthier lifestyle: no junk food, less driving, more activity as part of day to day life.

On the other hand especially for women they were not encouraged to do sports, it's seen as "unladylike".

It just so happens our Mom likes to garden and that works well for her.

Barring injury accident or piano falling from the sky or you know...who knows what's in store for us I'd like to follow in her garden clogs.

I can see that it's nice to just be able to do what you want to or need to do at that age as well as life's just precious, this way it can be both quality and quantity. But you know, who knows, life's short.

The one drawback of living well and long is seeing so many of her friends grow frail and die, that makes her sad. But then there's this....first great grandchild.

[Duck on Wheels]

Lisa (hugs), I'm sorry to hear about your Mom.

On the one hand our parents generation in some ways had a healthier lifestyle: no junk food, less driving, more activity as part of day to day life.

On the other hand especially for women they were not encouraged to do sports, it's seen as "unladylike".

It just so happens our Mom likes to garden and that works well for her.

Barring injury accident or piano falling from the sky or you know...who knows what's in store for us I'd like to follow in her garden clogs.

I can see that it's nice to just be able to do what you want to or need to do at that age as well as life's just precious, this way it can be both quality and quantity. But you know, who knows, life's short.

The one drawback of living well and long is seeing so many of her friends grow frail and die, that makes her sad. But then there's this....first great grandchild.

Oooh! Lovely picture! I hadn't seen that one before. You take it, Trek?

As for the gardening prescription for long life: It's not just gardening that does it; it's how you garden as well. Mom and Dad were early into ecologically sound gardening. They'd put all our kitchen scraps into a bucket and every day or two take it out and bury the contents somewhere under a fruit tree. While at it, Mom would dig a bit further, turning the soil and "burying" weeds as well. With a couple dozen fruit trees on 3 hilly acres, that was a lot of exercize. It also turned 3 acres of hardpan adobe into soft, fertile soil with a lush and superproductive garden. They could feed a small village of friends and relatives with this and that through half the year (beans, berries, walnuts, figs, plums, apples, oranges, guavas, tomatoes, cucumbers ...). It really hurt to sell that place, but it was too big for her alone. Now she's starting all over from hard pan adobe on a 1/4 acre lot, and already in her second summer again handing out beans, squash, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes. Just piddling about with a trowel as I do weeding a couple of flower beds ain't gonna keep me going til 84. I'll have to get serious and get out the shovel and pruning saw.

[Trek420]

There are other forms of excercise you can do all your life that you do like orienteering, cross country ski and .... cycling

But gardening's the only exercise I can think of that you can eat!!

[Duck on Wheels]

Brandi, How's the visit going? Has your MiL maybe had any suggestions of her own to add to the list of activities to do together with older women?