At some point in our journey through life, we realize that our body is far older than our inner self feels. I recall talking to my grandmother on her 80th birthday and hearing her sigh over the phone before telling me, “I don’t feel 80.” I understood exactly what she meant. In my mind, I’ve been 24 for the past two decades.
Apparently, that gap between how old we are and how old we feel only gets wider as we get older, as demonstrated by a centenarian grandmother whose reaction to finding out she was turning 100 went viral.
Chelsea Dornan shared a video on her Instagram page of a conversation she had with her grandma leading up to her 100th birthday. At first, the woman seemed surprised to find out she was going to hit triple digits soon, but then she confirmed what year it was and did the math herself.
“Son of a gun! I don’t feel a hundred. Wow,” Grandma said. When Dornan asked her how old she feels, she responded, “I feel maybe 50…55, maybe.”
“I feel healthy, you know, like there’s nothing that’s aching or hanging,” she added before praying to make it through her 100th birthday.
Watch:
First of all, I’ll have whatever skincare regime she’s been using, because hello, gorgeous.
Second, to make it to 100 without anything aching or hanging? May we all be so blessed.
Third, can we please bring back “son of a gun”?
After her video went viral, Dornan shared a follow-up in which she explained Instagram to her grandma and shared how many people were sending her good birthday wishes, which left her adorably singing Judy Garland’s “I Don’t Care.”
And on July 2, the celebration of 100 trips around the sun commenced, with Grandma wearing a flower crown and comfy slippers. She tasted a finger-swipe of frosting, because at 100 you do whatever you want. Then she offered a simple prayer—that everyone be happy, that the family stay together and that they all remain happy. “Please God, that’s all I ask,” she said before blowing out her candles.
How precious.
Only a fraction of 1% of us will see our 100th birthday, and most of those who do will not seem as young as this beautiful elder. What a gift to make it an entire century and still be in such good spirits, and what a gift to us all to see her reach such a huge milestone.