LOOKING FORWARD AT 100

“Looking Forward At 100 ”  is a documentary highlighting the work of nursing instructor Heather Nelson and her team from Regina, Canada.   They set out to conduct a small study of centenarians curious to learn what brought these folks joy and whether or not they were still making future plans.   The study included six women ranging from 99 to 102 years of age living in care facilities.

At the beginning of the film, the researchers shared that they were looking for those centenarians who weren’t simply waiting to die but who felt they still had things to do.

In the interviews, six women shared stories of their childhoods, marriages, motherhood, life on the farms, their involvement in the war effort, challenges, accomplishments, triumphs, and regrets.  They told their stories with clarity, pride, and a keen sense of humor.   They were well-spoken, cognitively very sharp, with faces full of expression and beautiful smiles.  There was something very endearing about each one of them.

One woman, age 100, was playing piano in the film and commented on how she enjoys doing so and hearing folks sing along.  She also is still volunteering annually to help people complete their income tax returns.   She had retired from, in her words,  the “income tax department” at the age of 65 .  She had a great laugh regaling the story of having received a call at the age of 97 asking if she was interested in returning to her workplace as an administrator.  When the interviewer stated that perhaps it could have been possible since she is still actively doing tax returns, the woman laughed even louder at the absurdity of such an idea.

Another woman, age 102, had been submitting articles and poems to Readers Digest for some years and was still doing so.   Since the actual writing had become difficult she started recording her work and her daughter puts it to print.   A poem that she wrote during World War II has it’s place in war archives in Ottawa.

Then there was the woman, who at the age of 98, sneaked out of the care facility and took a taxi to the casino.   She told the taxi driver, who questioned her going alone, that she was meeting up with her son there.   Not surprisingly, her son, sitting beside her during the interview, confirmed this was not the case.  When the interviewer suggested she is like a teenager, she was quick to respond that, no, she must act her age now.   When asked what that might look like, this now 100 year old women, sat sanctimoniously still with folded hands and a sly grin.

I found the sharing of their stories and the manner in which these women fielded the questions very encouraging.  These centenarian women were very much still active in their lives, happy to be engaged in the project and willing to honestly share from their experiences.  They represented what I aspire toward if I should ever be that age.  It would seem that perhaps the researchers had found that group they were looking for, they ones who were not waiting to die but still had things to look forward to.

The women shared visiting with family as one of the things they look forward to.   One women, very proudly, talked about going to her grandson’s upcoming concert and another was quick to point out that prior to the pandemic she was able to look forward to outings, which at the time of the interview were not happening, that she hoped might return.   They have things happening in their lives that keep them interested.  Still very much engaged with life, they have families they love who they are proud of, they have sound minds with great memories, and they are not ill.

Later in film the researchers drew closer to their research questions asking about what brings joy and whether these women had future goals.   This is when the documentary got real for me.   The women showed great resolve when asked more directly about hopes and future goals.   They never missed a beat, laughing as they shared goals like, “just keep breathing”, “nothing”,  “ready to go”, “ready to kick the bucket – looking for the bucket”, “one day at a time”.    There was nothing weighted about their responses.  On the contrary there was a light touch and sense of humor.

When asked what they wanted to share with younger people, they offered such things as, “I don’t care who you vote for but just vote!”,  “Make nice memories all throughout your life so that when your time comes you will have them to look back over”.  “Conservation and the environment are important.  They whole movement started 150 years too late”.

These are not women waiting to die.  They are women of great wisdom holding the reality of their mortality in equal balance with the joys of their daily lives.  I would think such an approach makes for a richer moment by moment experience.

The study was a success if the researchers were seeking to truly understand how these women of 100 plus years of age are finding joy and looking forward.

I don’t know what the researchers were hoping to discover.  I feel they may have gone into the study with some bias, perhaps hoping to come away with great stories of centenarians making big plans for the future.  There was no circling back to the original questions with any research findings on the part of the research team.  I hope that they were enlightened by the profundity of the simple and direct responses from these women.

If I should live to be anywhere near 100 years old may it be that I can reflect back over my lifetime with such gratitude for all of its challenges and triumphs and look forward to the natural ending of my life with such grace.  In the meantime, may I try to remain in the present moments of my life letting go of any notion that I am in control of the future.   As one of the women said when asked whether she was looking forward to being 103, “It’s not in my hands my dear”.