I called my Grandad in Australia this-morning. He immigrated from the UK just before I was born meaning he has lived in Australia just over a third of his life. So strictly speaking, he is more a Brit than an Aussie except for the fact that he will not leave the house without his Akubra Hat. So, an Aussie at heart. Good stuff! Oh, and his name is Sydney. So, an Aussie through and through. Clearly.
All my friends call him Grandad and adore him. He is a very special human being, not least because he is about to turn 99. Amazing. He lives alone in an apartment with beach views which I am not sure he can see anymore because he is registered legally blind. But, he knows they are there! He misses Grandma a lot but would prefer to live alone than in a retirement home. “They’re full of old people!”, he says. Grandad cooks himself three meals a day, does his morning stretches on the balcony religiously and ensures to get out of the house most days which means he is in contact with people regularly.
I asked Grandad his secret. He said, “Eat well with lots of vegetables, exercise and enjoy people.”
I asked him how it feels to be 99. Scary or exciting? He said, “I have had a good life. I want to go out with dignity and peace. Every day I wake up aware that it could either be my last or I could make it like the first day of a new year. I take life as it comes to me and every day I hope to be happy and healthy. So far I have been extremely lucky. I think you should focus on the best things in life rather than looking at the ‘dooms day’ side of things. I have many friends and I am pleased with that. Sally (my sister in Australia) is a tower of strength. I have you girls (my sister & I). I am very very lucky.”
He went on to talk about how much he loves the people around him. He has become a bit of a local celebrity, quite simply because of his age and independence. Everyone seems to know Syd. He is convinced most of the girls are flirting with him too!
I remember once asking how he was dealing with life without Grandma. They had an incredible marriage. She followed him to the ends of the earth while he was in the RAF and brought up three children alone during the War. She was his rock. It was devastating when she died but he simply explained to me that the most important thing in life is to keep planning ahead. He says you can’t look back. You have to work with what you have now and plan forward. That is how he gets through each day. When Grandma died he focussed on planning holidays. Months and months of planning would go into train adventures across Australia. It was almost painstaking to watch all the planning (I would just go jump on a train and see what happened…!) but it was all part of getting through those early days without Grandma. It gave him something exciting and new to think about. And, being in his 90’s, he naturally isn’t as spontaneous as I am sure he was in his youth!
It was nice to be reminded of the very simple stuff that ensures a happy, healthy, long life.
Eat well.
Move your body.
Surround yourself with loving people.
Live in the now.
Don’t look back.
Create things to look forward to.
Simples!
* The picture above is of Grandad with my niece taken when I visited them in August last year. Can’t wait for another trip soon!
