When I visited my wonderful friend of 20 years in Arizona, our plans almost changed.
Instead of mountain hiking, it sounded like we might be visiting her mum.
A 99-year-old, soon-to-be-100 woman.
And I’ll be honest.
How many of us would carry an image of what that visit might look like? Quiet. Sad. Frail. Lonely.
I was wrong.
The woman who opened the door was Bette.
And she was fully dressed, makeup on, wearing beautiful earrings.
She was sharp, curious, switched on.
Very much alive.
This was not an “elderly, incapable” woman.
This was someone whose presence filled the room.
As we talked, I learned that Bette had recently been attending online university courses. At 99.
Her curiosity and hunger for life put many people decades younger to shame.
And then came my favourite part: her goal for her 100th birthday is to travel to Africa to celebrate.
Of course, the doctor in me kicked in.
What’s her secret?
Bette was born to immigrant parents from Bohemia, one of twelve (!) children. Life wasn’t easy.
But she spoke with warmth, humour, and an unmistakable positivity. She told me she still prays every evening.
And with a smile said that after her prayers, she “sleeps like a baby.”
And yes, I asked the question many of you are probably wondering:
Had she ever been on hormone replacement treatment (HRT)?
The answer was a very clear no.
In fact, she’s on virtually no medication at all.
What she does have is an active social life.
If you try to catch her after 7am, she’s often already out or engaged with something.
She has purpose.
Connection.
Faith.
Curiosity.
Joy.
I did still go hiking later that day.
And as much as I enjoyed it, the real highlight of that trip wasn’t the mountains.
It was meeting Bette.
An unexpected gift.
And without question, one of the greatest gifts of 2025 for me.
It re-affirmed what I knew already:
While hormones can be incredibly helpful for many women, they are never the whole story.
True longevity, vitality, and joy come from how we live, connect, think, move, rest…
And how we stay curious about life itself 😉.
