Just keep moving. That is the answer my grandpa, who lived until he was 100, would give when people asked the secret to a long life. My grandpa passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 100. It is truly amazing and an inspiration to me! Thankfully I did get to see him just a couple months ago back in November and he was still quite sharp and engaging! He certainly lived by this principle, just keep moving. He lived independently until the age of 99, only living in assisted care for 8 months. He took care of his house, his yard, and had a garden every summer. He also late into life was a woodworker and made a multitude of furniture pieces or other wood projects for family members. He was so creative and usually made things without any sort of blue print but just from his own head. For my kids he made a doll cradle and a rocking horse, he also made a jewelry box for my daughter and a mini keepsake type box for me from an old piano that they had in their home that was no longer working. It was an upright piano and had a neat floral design panel on the front which he decided to use as a wall decor piece in their living room.

My grandpa was a World War 2 vet and had a veteran’s funeral, which was amazing to see and quite an emotional experience. I had never been to a veteran’s funeral. As they were performing the folding of the flag – in a methodical and precise way, I was thinking about the life my grandpa lived before he was a husband, a father, and a grandfather. In that moment I truly embraced his humanity. I am sure he saw and had to do some unthinkable things in the war. I’m sure there were so many other things he went through in his life that were just human. You don’t think about that as a little kid, maybe not even as an adult – that your grandparents, your parents were human – just like you. With struggles and hurts. I know he was not perfect, but none of us are. I know as an adult, I’m doing the best I can with everything I experienced and I give him the benefit of the doubt that he also did the best he could. Realizing his humanity reminded me of this. 

My Grandma passed away almost exactly 6 years ago, at the age of 93 by the way. Now with both of them gone I wanted to go say goodbye to their house one more time. They moved into that house when my mom was 16 years old, so that was always Grandma and Grandpa’s house for me since day one. I have SO many memories from their house. When I arrived it was a bit of upheaval because my family had to move the furniture out of my Grandpa’s assisted care facility back into their home. Also, my grandpa definitely didn’t keep the house as immaculately clean as I remember Grandma keeping it. I thought it would be difficult to say goodbye, but honestly it felt like a ghost town there. The life that was once so vibrant and bustling in that home was gone. It reminded me that people make a home, not the stuff. All the stuff seemed unimportant at that moment. My family will go in and get what they want, but most of their things will be sold in an estate sale including the home. It all seemed meaningless. I did take a few picture frames and some of my Grandma’s jewelry, but the stuff only had life when they were there using it. This reinforced my desire to focus my time, energy, and money on people and experiences over stuff!

I’m so thankful for all the lessons I learned from Grandma and Grandpa. Lessons I will take with me for the rest of my life. And even after their death I was learning from them. Keep moving, remember everyone is just human like you, and stuff is far less important than we think it is in the end. I hope these lessons I learned from my grandparents will help their legacy live on. Not just through me and our family, but through whoever embraces them as we share these lessons generously with others. I hope these lessons inspire you as well.