A Special Note:

Since this publishing I bring sad news that my Great Aunt Hilda has passed away. As you can see in the photos she has been pretty alert with bouts of dementia. Early this fall she began to fail. She wasn’t eating right and not herself.

She missed her husband deeply who passed away in 1999. She was ready. It was just a matter of time when God was ready for her.

On February 5th, 2015 she passed away peacefully with Hospice and her minister at her side. May you Rest In Peace Great Aunt Hilda. March 7th, 1912 – February 5th, 2015.

Below are links of events our country has experienced in her lifetime.

What if you live to be 102 years old.  Are you taking care of your body and mind to be present if the time came?  These are thoughts I have had to ask myself after visiting my great aunt that is 102 years old. I thought it would be fun to see the changes of our society at certain ages of our lives and date them with my great aunt’s.  Here are the following:

18 Years Old:  1930 and the beginning of the Dust Bowl.

25 Years Old:  1937 Electricity comes to the farm.

30 Years Old:  1942 Iowa’s Sullivan Brothers Killed in WW II. In 1998 Saving Private Ryan movie was made with Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg.

40 Years Old:  1952 Polio Reaches Its Peak in Iowa.

50 Years Old:  1962 Cuban Missile Crisis happens in October.  I am 54 years old and it puts it into perspective.

61 Years Old:  1973 Arab Oil Embargo affects consumers.

70 Years Old:  1982 Farm Crisis began forcing many family farmers into foreclosure.

82 Years Old:  1994 Satellite Technology Changes Farming.

89 Years Old:  2001 America Under Attack on 9/11.

100 Years Old:  2012  March 7th Hilda Doyen turns 100 years old!  Friends and family had a birthday party that weekend.

102 Years Old:  2014 The day after Hilda’s 102  birthday which was March 7th, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Disappears. On Friday, April 25th, my mom and I got to see Hilda for the first time in two years.  It was a wonderful reunion as my mom and Hilda are so close.  During the war while Mom’s parents went off to California during the war to work in the ship yards, Hilda and her husband Andy took care of my mom.

Saturday was a wonderful day for Hilda.  The day before her 102nd birthday Hilda may possibly had a small stroke.  The nursing staff noticed a big difference in Hilda’s personality.  Hilda was so happy to see us that she slept good the night before and was able to visit in the present tense with a few times drifting into the past.  We didn’t mind.  We loved to hear the stories.

The following are photos of my great aunt Hilda that had been known to bake some sticky rolls and put them in the mail to me.  Now that makes me feel special!

Do you have a great aunt of uncle who has reached a century old?  I would love to hear the stories.

Can you recall what happened on any of the events listed in this post?  I invite you to comment.