Centenarian Celebration!

Yesterday we hosted our 3rd annual Celebrate Centenarians event at Waltonwood Senior Living in Ashburn, Virginia.  We were honored to have 16 centenarians join us.  It was a day to honor their lives and achievements.  As each centenarian and their loved ones came in, we walked them down the red carpet, attaching boutonnieres and taking their pictures.  I had the honor of walking them in and got to see the looks of surprise and delight as they saw so many people gathered to celebrate them.  One centenarian, Mae, walked so briskly with her walker that I had to jog along to keep up with her.  Another gentleman, age 102, danced up the red carpet with me, singing along to the piano playing in the background.  There were smiles, lots of smiles, and it was a very life affirming event.  After lunch we had time to talk to the centenarians and ask them some questions.  

When asked what their secret to a long life is, we got a wide range of replies that included, love God, garden, trust your loved ones, and eat your peas!   There was lots of laughter at the tables when we asked one centenarian what she thought the greatest invention of her time was…she replied, “the push-up bra!”  I started to realize that a sense of humor and a love of life is a common thread among these amazing people.  While most of the centenarians I met yesterday, (and they were 100-108!) needed others to help them with the logistics of their daily lives, I was amazed by how much insight, support, and love they had to give the younger generations present.  I hope to see them all back next year!