Some reach old age with decorum,

Others leave hardly a trace,

And then there are those who refuse to be old

Like my eighty-eight 3rd cousin Grace.

 

Feisty’s one way to describe her;

She’s deaf to “You shouldn’t do that!”

She’s perfectly capable, shows that she can,

She is, for sure, no one’s doormat.

 

She keeps her brain sharp with Sudoku

Which she plays, online, every day;

I’ve watched her and it is amazing:

You can see her mind clicking away!

 

In some ways she’s wise from just living,

In others, her innocence shows;

She lived in the 50s, TV’s “Happy Days,”

And likes to revert back to those.

 

Sometimes she has trouble with balance

But a 3-footed cane? “Heavens, no!”

And “walkers are meant for the ancient,” which she

 states, flatly, she isn’t, and so

 

She still drives her car to get groceries

It’s six minutes, max, from her home.

An outing that’s pleasant, she goes all the time,

And it keeps her from being alone.

 

She bumps into friends who are shopping,

They stop and they visit awhile;

She chats with employees who’ve been there for years

As she goes up and down every aisle.

 

She insists that her sight’s 20/20;

Wearing her glasses, that’s true;

But the judging of distance is not her forte,

As Jasper, her dog, will tell you!

 

She says that she is extra careful

And she does remain accident-free,

So, she can run errands as long as she likes,

in fact, she can run some for me.

 

She hopes God will take her at 90,

That gives her two years to have fun;

She says, if He will, she’ll be ready to go,

for she will have had a good run!