There are three amazing older women in my life.  They live in different cities. They don’t know each other, but I love them all.  Often I will phone them on a Sunday, one right after the other.

The first is my Aunt Ruth. I have known her all my life. She’ll be 102 in February. She lives in her own house with the help of someone who comes for part of every day.  She hosts family events on the holidays, either in her home with help, or in a club she has belonged to for decades. She is up-to-date on politics and the Buffalo Bills football team, and her (arthritic) fingers still produce beautiful knitted things for her great-great grandchildren.

The second is my half-sister Florence who is going to be 97 in December.  I only learned of her existence when she was 82, but we’ve tried to make up for lost time.  When we spoke last Sunday, she reported that she is not hearing so well and not walking so well. Yet she flew across the country twice in the last three months to visit her family on the west coast. 

And finally there is Esther, my friend Tina’s mother.  She is a bundle of energy, looks twenty years younger than her age (mid 90’s).  She has had more than her share of losses in life, but she remains upbeat, and reminds us that no one wants to hear the complaints of others.

Role models for all.