107-year-old wisdom

I went to a birthday party recently for someone turning—get this—107 years old.

Her name is Nat and I attended her 106th birthday party last year, and she was at my birthday party the year before that. Her memory is jumbled, and you never know what she’ll say, but she’s always smiling and telling jokes. She recently went through a phase where everything she said ended in a rhyme. Every time I see her, she tells me the importance of not taking oneself too seriously.

I asked her what her secret is to living such a long life, and she said if it wasn’t for all the loving people around her, she would be long gone. It’s a testament to the power of community, family, and friendship. She also said her sister lived to be 104, so it runs in the family.

And then, with a twinkle in her eye and a sly, confident smile on her face, she said:

“In life, you start at the top and you work your way down. And when you get to the bottom, you look around, and you say ‘Oof, sorry about all that.’”

Mic drop.

Because damn, isn’t it the truth?

When we’re young, we think we know so much. We think we’re invincible, that we know best. We think we have it all figured out, we’re so sure that we’re right, and we have such conviction.

Then the older we get, the more we realize how very little we know. We see our mistakes, and we become more and more aware of our flaws. As the years pile up, we get clear on just how human we are.

This isn’t a reason to feel defeated, guilty or doomed, it’s a reminder that it’s okay to mess up.

That there’s nothing wrong with you because you didn't do it perfectly.

That you aren’t any less of a person because things went sideways.

That just because you made a mistake, it doesn’t mean you are a mistake.

That everyone has regrets and we all have things to work on.

Here’s to starting at the top and working our way down with this messy, imperfect, beautiful, joyful, devastating, painful, wonderful life of ours.

Molly