Live it up- but wait until you’re a 100….

 

We like to take the kids to visit the local nursing home on Fridays. It is kind of my way of ‘giving back’ to justify allowing myself to ‘throw some back’ later on at happy hour.

There is one lady in particular that I just adore, partly because she is sweet and grateful for the company, but mostly because she compliments me each and every time I see her and makes me feel like I’m a Hollywood star.

She is 100 years old – but I tell her she doesn’t look a day older than 90.

I asked her what she thought was her secret to longevity. I bet you think her answer was something like:

“eating clean” or “exercise daily”.

 

Nope, her simple reply was: “good sex and good scotch”.

At which point I tried to cover my kid’s ears with Vince Vaughn’s hand earmuffs – but they just rolled their eyes at me.

 

Got to hand it to the lady- she has it all figured out.

But her answer made me think….

I spend my days juggling and balancing all the normal activities that go along with being superwoman in my mid 40’s – from motherhood, career, husband- and just life as we know it.

• I eat clean (except weekend cheat days of course- you hear all about those).
• I exercise everyday.
• I drink wine and not jagermeister shots.
• I don’t do drugs (unless Xanax counts- Nah, don’t think so, let’s just say it doesn’t).

In other words, I am a good girl.

But when I’m old and grey (Who am I kidding? – I’m already grey- but I still bother to color it) will I change my ways?

Ethel made me stop and consider it.

Thankfully the sex part I have covered- maybe too much so- (my husband calls me as Mrs. Roper),

 

but what about the other stuff I have chosen to steer clear of because I knew they were no good – things that “bad girls” did??!

I can’t help but to wonder, if I’m still around to reach age 98 and have say, maybe another couple years left – Would I let loose and party like a rock star?

Hell ya I would! I would buy a souped up walker with a built in shelf to hold all my cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, opium and whatever new hallucigenic was available at the time.

I’d have the lower part of the walker designed with a full wet bar and walk around sloshed all day long.

My room in the nursing home will have an open door policy for whomever feels like swinging by. (before 6:00PM of course, girls still gotta get her sleep).

Yup, at that age, I would absolutely just allow myself to let it all go.

Lesson Learned:

Maybe we shouldn’t wait until it’s too late to truly enjoy living. But first, we need to live a full lifespan of clean eating and taking care of ourselves so that we get to that point to just let it all go!

Live! But not too much.

 

 

Fake it till you make it….

When my youngest was in kindergarten she would ask me not to come into the classroom when I would come to pick her up from school. Her reasoning was simple – it was too embarrassing for her because I would “smile too hard”.

It’s true, I am a happy person and I do smile all the time, which is why I have those parenthesis around my lips and refuse to infuse them with restylane and most likely never will. (She says now, but fully understands she has the right to withdraw that statement at any time if she so desires – or buys a Groupon – whichever comes first).

My friend never smiles. She tells me this is why she has absolutely no wrinkles. I believe her; her skin is flawless.

I have always been this way, which makes it difficult when I’m mad at my husband and he says something really funny because he knows I’ll crack a smile regardless if I’m speaking to him or not.

My secret to being so happy all the time?

I simply don’t take little things life throws me very seriously.

Don’t get me wrong. I have known tragedy and felt pain. But for the most part, I really do try and separate the things that I can control and either change them, improve them or move on from them. As for the things I cannot control, well those are the secret ingredients to true happiness – the ability to accept that as so and move on anyway- in spite of the obstacles.

It is a proven fact that when you smile, you release endorphins, which are responsible for making us feel happy and lower stress levels. The best part about smiling is that even if you are FAKING it, your brain doesn’t know you’re trying to pull a fast one, and it STILL releases these chemical stimulants.

Sure, you can drink a glass (or two) of wine and still feel that same stress release as smiling offers, but when you smile its also contagious, so you are inevitably spreading the joy.

Lesson Learned:

I’ll leave this one to Mr. Roarke:

“SMILES everyone smiles!”. (And drink your wine too- it does a body good!)