Posted in My Heritage

I have a Great Aunt who is 92 years old. She's the last surviving member of my grandmother's family. The secret to her longevity is her love of life, love of Jesus and her curiosity about life and about everyone else. I wish I had a photo to share of her - she is still slim and blonde (I think with a little help), and attractive and looks 82, not 92.

Last night my mother rang up with a story to tell me. She'd just been talking to Aunty Grace on the phone. Aunty Grace lives by herself in the city of Auckland. She still drives and cooks for herself. I will repeat the conversation that my mother repeated to me. It was about 8pm at night and apparently, according to the weather report, torrential rain had been pouring down all day in Auckland.

AG: "Hello dear. I've just gotten home. I drove out to see a friend. And as I was coming home, I felt like eating one of those hamburgers. You know. So I stopped at that place where you get hamburgers. What's it called again? Oh, you know the place......."

Mum: "Do you mean McDonalds?"

AG: "Yes, that's it. Ohhh, and I did enjoy it. And I had one of their apple fritters as well. There weren't many people in there at that time of the night, but I did see a young Fijiian-looking lady sitting by herself, so I went and sat with her. She told me she was feeling lonely and missing her mother. I asked her if she had a boyfriend, and she said no she didn't - that her husband had left her for another woman, leaving her to raise a little child, and she was finding it very hard.  I said to her, 'oh darlin' - you need Jesus! ... Now, on Sunday night, you go over there across the road - there's a very nice church there with lots of friendly people who love Jesus, lots of people from Fiji and India and other places go there, and they'll help you."

Knowing Aunty Grace, she probably said a lot more than this, but my mother and I were in fits of laughter, because this is Aunty Grace to a tee. We used to love going shopping with her when we were younger, because it was always an experience. She never paid full price, always told people about Jesus, and if you got to stop in a cafe or restaurant it was all the more entertaining. I remember one time where she was not satisfied with the cup of tea the waitress brought her, so she got up and went behind the counter and made a fresh one herself - not caring that she actually wasn't supposed to be there. She seems to have no fear of people or what people think of her - that is something to be envious of.

I just love the fact that on this night she was out driving her car, in the pouring rain, after dark, in a busy city, ordering McDonalds and dining with strangers.... at 92!