National Senior Citizens' Day

Today was declared Senior Citizen's day by Ronald Regan in 1988. Aside from my grandparents and great aunts and uncles (whom I love very much.) I had the privilege of knowing an elderly woman who showed me that getting older just means a measure of time.  When I was in college I used to volunteer for Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind in Washington, DC.  As a volunteer I visited and read to a woman named Mrs. Carter.  Her husband  had been in the military and so she'd traveled to the Philippines and China   She was 93 when I knew her and she didn't let anything stop her from doing whatever it was that she wanted to do. She even took me to see a ballet. (She did have enough sight to be able to make out shapes if she sat close to the stage and with the music she could pretty much get the idea of what was going on. She also cooked-she had her stove made up with buttons that were raised according to how hot she wanted the heat to be-it was pretty neat.  Mainly, I just liked talking to her. She always had something to say and something to teach me. From her I learned that listening can mean a lot to people, that memories should be shared, and most of all, that life should be lived to the fullest!