ON TURNING ONE HUNDRED

My Auntie Jen turned one hundred years old today. On display in her hallway are congratulatory letters from the Queen, the Prime Minister, the Governor General, Premier of Manitoba and Mayor of Winnipeg, all nicely framed and wishing her appropriate one hundred year birthday wishes.

My Auntie Jen is the oldest of six siblings. Only one other is still alive, the youngest, my Uncle Abe. My dad was one of her brothers. Uncle Abe is 88 years old. He is one the sharpest most astute people of any age that I know. He never stops - he is always working on something, trying something new - I think I am a lot like him in that way. Except he is way smarter.

We went to visit Auntie Jen today, my cousin Em, Jen's daughter, and myself. Auntie Jen was in fine fettle. Her cognition is not exactly perspicacious but she seems happy enough. She spoke today in four languages, five if we count gibberish. She always wants to do more, a reflection of a life lived in hard toil and labour dedicated to others. I think she is frustrated that she finds herself to be one hundred years old, sitting on a chair and unable to run around doing things for people. When she realized she was 93 years old, seven years ago, she turned to her son Jerry and said: "I'm too young to be that old." Indeed.

Her younger brother by some twelve years has not lost any of his cognition. In fact, he seems to gain some as he gets older, appearing smarter, sharper and more with it with each year. He is such a total inspiration. He is my dad's younger brother, and I know why my dad loved him so much. The older I become, the more precious my family is to me. I do not want to ever lose them. They are a part of who I am. And once more I give thanks for being part of this family that has in it people like Uncle Abe and my one hundred year old Auntie Jen.